Stein Mitchell and other law firms file lawsuit against Binance for knowingly facilitating terrorist financing for Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the IRGC-QF
Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP announces the filing of a lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange company Binance, its founder Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), and senior executive Guangying “Heina” Chen. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, along with co-counsel, on behalf of 306 American victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks.
We are proud to have the Balva family as the named plaintiff in this important case.
“We filed this lawsuit because those who helped make these atrocities possible shouldn’t get to hide behind computer screens,” said Eyal Balva whose son was killed by Hezbollah. “Binance’s platform moved the money that helped fund the violence that destroyed our family. Terror doesn’t begin on the battlefield—it begins with financing, and we intend to expose everyone who played a role.”
The complaint, brought under the Anti-Terrorism Act, alleges that Binance knowingly, willfully, and systematically enabled designated terrorist organizations: Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s IRGC-QF, to move and conceal over one billion dollars through its global platform. The financed amounts detailed in the complaint dwarf the figures previously identified by the U.S. government during Binance’s 2023 criminal enforcement actions.
“This was not a compliance lapse—it was a business model,” said Jonathan Missner, managing partner of Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner LLP. “Our investigation shows that Binance built systems designed to evade oversight, using its off-chain network and weak controls to move enormous sums for sanctioned groups. This platform became a conduit for financing murder, kidnappings, and rocket attacks. The families deserve justice—and the public deserves transparency.”
While the U.S. government previously disclosed Binance's facilitation of transactions worth over $2,000 for Hamas prior to October 7, the new lawsuit alleges that Binance accounts transferred over $300 million to Hamas and other terrorist organizations responsible for the October 7 attacks, and received over $700 million from them, prior to October 7. These figures do not include "off chain" transactions.
The lawsuit forensically unwinds these complex transactions, extending from Caracas to Gaza to North Dakota to Beirut. The financing operations included a terror-linked gold smuggling operation, Gaza money exchanges, terror financing in the American heartland and a Venezuelan livestock entrepreneur transacting with designated terrorists.
The complaint further alleges that Binance knowingly facilitated the transfer of at least $100 million to the terrorist organizations responsible for the October 7 attacks since that date. This continued activity occurred even as the company was under a federal monitorship and publicly claimed to be undergoing comprehensive remediation of its business operations. The lawsuit identifies multiple Binance wallets that remain active today.
The families seek compensatory and treble damages, attorneys’ fees, and other appropriate relief. The legal team’s investigation of Binance and other entities that facilitated the October 7 attacks remains ongoing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/business/binance-hamas-terrorism.html