US Prosecutors Attempt to Seize Bitcoin Allegedly Tied to Al Qaeda

In a complaint for forfeiture filed Thursday, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Internal Revenue Service cyber-crimes unit claim that Al Qaeda created a sophisticated money-laundering operation through a network of Telegram channels, which they used to solicit bitcoin donations intended to fund acts of terror. “Al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups have been operating a BTC money laundering network using Telegram channels and other social media platforms to solicit BTC donations to further their terrorist goals,” the complaint read.

The complaint starts with donations sent to a Telegram group called “Tawheed Jihad Media,” which began soliciting bitcoin donations in April 2019. Overall, the investigators found 155 different crypto addresses they claim are tied to Al Qaeda and various other organizations allegedly supporting the terrorist group.

Timeline of Bitcoin