In a high-stakes global investigation, Argentina freezes suspect wallets as it cracks down on terror financing linked to cryptocurrency that is connected to HTS and foreign agents.

The use of cryptocurrency funds to finance terrorism is currently being addressed by Argentina. Argentina's anti-terrorism and money laundering watchdog, the Financial Information Unit (UIF), has discovered that national cryptocurrency exchanges may be used to finance Hay'et Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a terrorist organization based in Syria with connections to Al Qaeda.

According to the investigations, this organization may be working with two people: a Russian person living in Argentina and another foreign resident that the U.S. Treasury Department and the Israeli National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) have identified.

Although the U.S. Department of State recently withdrew Hay’et Tahrir Al-Sham’s (HTS) classification as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), international anti-terrorism organizations continue to identify the group as a terrorist organization.

Argentina is required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to take action when there is a danger of international terrorism financing, even when there is no proof that this money was intended to be used to carry out terrorist attacks in Argentina.

After receiving a tip from two sources—one domestic and one foreign—the UIF requested the move and informed a federal judge, who approved the administrative freezing of the cryptocurrency funds.

According to local sources connected to the events, it was agreed to freeze all of his wallets and financial transfers as a first step. From this point forward, the justice system will step in to intensify further steps.

Without providing further information, these same individuals also disclosed that addresses in the chain of transactions involving these monies may have connections to other illicit groups.