WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, that the FBI seized more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency and took control of domains and servers that Hamas's military wing used to solicit money and recruit supporters online.

The department described the operation as a set of court-authorized seizures aimed at an ongoing financing scheme for Hamas, which the United States designates as a foreign terrorist organization. According to the DOJ announcement and unsealed warrants, an encrypted group chat claiming ties to Hamas directed supporters to a fundraising site and supplied a rotating list of cryptocurrency addresses.

Investigators used information from multiple human sources to trace and seize roughly $560,000 through warrants dated March 25, June 25 and Oct. 10, 2025, the department said. The money was allegedly intended for the Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing.

The FBI's Albuquerque Field Office also seized domains and servers tied to AlQassam.ps, described by DOJ as the group's main website. Taking control of that infrastructure let agents intercept donations intended for Hamas, according to the department.

The government said investigators obtained information on thousands of people who contacted Hamas online to donate or attempt to donate through cryptocurrency and traditional payment methods. DOJ said that information will feed future counterterrorism investigations; the announcement did not allege that every person in that pool completed a donation or committed a crime.

"Your networks are not secure, your crypto is vulnerable," U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro said in the department's release. Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said the seizures were designed to restrict Hamas's capacity to recruit and finance attacks.

The case is being investigated by the FBI's Albuquerque office with its Counterterrorism and Cyber divisions and its New York field office. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington and the National Security Division are handling it.

The action is also a reminder that cryptocurrency is not automatically anonymous. Public transaction records, exchange cooperation, court warrants and control of online infrastructure can give investigators multiple points to trace and intercept funds. The government still has to justify each seizure in court; Tuesday's release summarizes allegations and investigative findings, not criminal convictions.

Sources