Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Israel's Ministry of Defense announced Monday the seizure of 187 cryptocurrency wallets that have received $1.5 billion. Israel says the wallets are linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, which has been designated as a terrorist group.
While $1.5 billion moved through the wallets over time, they currently hold $1.5 million, according to a document, detailing the seizure order and freezing the wallets from making any future transactions.
"Pursuant to my authority according to section 56b of the Anti-Terrorism Law 5776 -- 2016 and having been convinced that the cryptocurrency wallets specified in the list are property of the designated terrorist organization Iran's Revolutionary Guards, or property used for the perpetration of a severe terror crime as defined by the law, I hereby order the seizure of the property," Israel Katz, minister of defense, wrote in the Administrative Seizure Order.
Israel, the European Union and the United States are among a number of countries that have sanctioned the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Blockchain monitoring firm Elliptic said it cannot confirm whether the wallets do belong to the IRGC.
"Some of the addresses may be controlled by cryptocurrency services and could be part of wallet infrastructure used to facilitate transactions for many customers," Elliptic said in a blog post.
