The Israeli government says it has seized millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from accounts that had sent or received funds in alleged financing schemes for a powerful arm of the Iranian military and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon
JERUSALEM — The Israeli government said Tuesday that it seized millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from accounts that had sent or received funds in alleged financing schemes for a powerful arm of the Iranian military and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he issued an order to seize the cryptocurrency wallets and turn over the funds to the Israeli government.
He described the “extensive” operation as Israel’s first to target the Hezbollah militant group and the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force — two organizations sworn to Israel’s destruction. Both have been designated by the United States and some other governments as terrorist organizations and locked out of the traditional global financial system.
It was a multi-agency effort, Gallant said, involving Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the Israeli military intelligence office, the Israeli police and others.
Israel has previously seized cryptocurrency belonging to the paramilitary arm of Gaza’s Hamas rulers as part of counterterrorism financing investigations.
“This is the first incident of this magnitude,” Gallant said, noting that the effort took place earlier this week. “We have effectively cut off the flow of terror funds via this channel.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Israel’s announcement.
Gallant alleged that Hezbollah and the Quds Force rely on virtual currency to finance their militant activities. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are favored for illicit transactions because they are perceived as hard to trace. Anyone in the world can create a Bitcoin account and begin receiving digital funds without providing a name or address.
Countries facing American sanctions, like Israel’s regional foe Iran, have worked toward creating their own cryptocurrencies to circumvent financial restrictions.
Gallant said that Israel’s seizure of the illicit funds should serve as a warning to “whoever finances terror,” as Israeli authorities have developed tools and techniques that can identify those involved in so-called blockchain transactions.
DEAR HARRIETTE: Is it wise to explore a new field of work at age 36?
Growing up, I was always passionate about art and creativity. As a child, I spent hours sketching and painting, finding solace in the colors and forms that flowed from my imagination.
However, life took me on a different path, and I pursued a career in finance, which has provided stability but has left me feeling unfulfilled creatively.
I am unmarried and single; now in my mid-30s, I find myself yearning to reconnect with my artistic side and explore opportunities in a creative field.
What are your thoughts on someone planning to explore a new career field at this stage of life? I’m eager to pursue my passion and find fulfillment in my work again.
— Seeking Artistic Fulfillment
DEAR SEEKING ARTISTIC FULFILLMENT: You are young. There is no reason why you cannot make a career pivot now.
Take the time to do this strategically. Save as much money as you can in your finance job so that you create a cushion for yourself.
Sign up for art classes to hone your skills. Look into careers that value your artistic abilities so that when you do leave your job, you can find something fulfilling that also earns a living. Look at the advertising industry, graphic design, publishing and other such fields to see what opportunities are available that match your creativity.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I’ve been in a committed relationship for over seven years, but recently, my partner’s attitude toward my disability has shifted.
As someone who uses a wheelchair due to a spinal injury, I’ve always appreciated my partner’s support.
However, lately, they’ve started making decisions for me without consulting me, assuming I can’t handle certain tasks independently. For instance, they’ll rearrange plans, assuming venues aren’t wheelchair accessible, or speak for me in conversations about my needs. These actions make me feel sidelined and undermine my independence.
I want us to be equals in our relationship, but I’m hesitant to address this with my partner because they tend to overthink and might misunderstand my intentions.
What approach should I use to communicate my feelings to my partner without being misunderstood?
— Wanting Autonomy Back
DEAR WANTING AUTONOMY BACK: It is time for a heart-to-heart chat with your partner.
Gently express your observation that they have been making decisions for you due to your disability. While you appreciate their thoughtfulness, you do not want to lose your agency to make decisions on your own.
Thank them for loving you and thinking about you, and ask that they give you the chance to weigh in with your thoughts about whatever the situation may be. Explain that for your well-being, it is important for you to feel as independent as possible, so you want to participate in the decision-making regarding your needs.
To be sensitive to your partner’s feelings, you can state that you know they are taking extra efforts to be sure that you will be comfortable in any given situation, and you appreciate that. Still, it is important that you be allowed to speak for yourself and make your own decisions.
Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
[Intime News]
In the last five years “we have changed the business environment in Greece, we have recovered what we lost in the crisis, we have obtained investment grade and we have recorded high growth rates,” Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Nikos Papathanasis said on Thursday at the 28th Annual Economist Government Roundtable in Athens.
The coordinator of the opposition in Israel’s Knesset Finance Committee, MK Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid), criticized on Thursday reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to assist a major haredi school system affiliated with United Torah Judaism MK and Knesset Finance Committee chairman, MK Moshe Gafni, that is currently under legal scrutiny for financial mismanagement.
In a post on X, Beliak wrote that he had received “more and more reports” that Netanyahu had promised to find funding to aid the private haredi school system known as the Hinuch Ha’atzmai (literally “Independent Education”) pay its employees’ salaries and social security benefits for the month of July.
The school system has been in financial trouble since a report in February by the Finance Ministry’s Accountant General Yahali Rotenberg laid out a series of financial irregularities. Beliak accused the prime minister of attempting to unlawfully assist the school system in order to prevent a political rupture with his political ally, at least until the end of the Knesset summer session on July 28.
Beliak warned the “prime minister’s office, the head of the Knesset Finance Committee (Gafni) and all those who are involved in the matter – we are following closely. We will scour with an iron comb every relevant transfer (of funds) that arrives at the finance committee. We will conduct an uncompromising professional, parliamentary, and legal struggle, we will reflect the reality, and we will update regularly,” Beliak wrote.
Gafni threatened a number of weeks ago to quit his position as Knesset Finance Committee chair if a solution was not found to save the school system from bankruptcy, and the inability to do so could lead to a political rupture in the coalition. This could happen irrespective of another crisis regarding the end of the haredi exemption from IDF service.
Despite being privately run, the Hinuch Atzmai and its Shas-run counterpart, Bnei Yosef, enjoy special legal status and receive full state funding. The two systems have received over NIS three billion annually in state funding during the past few years, and they share characteristics with government bodies – they are directly connected to the government’s MERKAVA funding system, and they employ a finance-ministry-appointed accountant to run their finances. However, these school systems are not prone to the same level of oversight as public schools. The presence of the publicly appointed accountant has enabled the systems to avoid effective financial scrutiny, as they have argued that their finances are state-run and therefore not their responsibility.
However, the February report found that the Hinuch Haatzmai had bypassed its accountant and amassed a tax debt of over NIS 80 million, and another report found that the school system had accrued additional operational debts of over NIS 300m. The Hinuch Haatzmai is also facing dozens of challenges in court, including six class actions suits against alleged violations of employees’ rights, including unexplained salary deductions, unpaid work hours, and more. These legal challenges could lead to hundreds of millions of additional shekels of debt.
As a result, the Hinuch Haatzmai in May suffered a bank account foreclosure, and at first was unable to pay its employees’ salaries in June. The Finance Ministry agreed to loan the necessary funds for June, but the system now faces the same challenge for July.
Rotenberg in February threatened that if a solution was not found by July 1, the Hinuch Atzmai and Bnei Yosef school systems would be disconnected from the government’s MERKAVA funding system, and the finance ministry would remove its accountant. This would force the systems to employ independent financial management, and bear full responsibility if it failed to meet tax requirements and financial commitments.
However, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Minister in the Education Ministry Haim Biton (Shas), and representatives from the Justice Ministry have attempted in recent weeks to come up with an arrangement that would lead to closer oversight of the systems, while keeping them afloat financially by continuing full state funding. FINANCE MINISTRY representatives reasoned that if this did not happen, the Hinuch Hatzmai, which has over 100,000 students and thousands of employees, would collapse, and the state would need to intervene regardless.
Members of the opposition opposed such an arrangement, as did the Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG). In a letter dated July 2 to Rotenberg, Biton, Finance Ministry legal adviser Asi Messing, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, and State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, MQG called on the Finance Ministry to “publish clarifications to the arrangement that was made, the alternatives that were examined, and the implications on state coffers.”
In an accompanying statement MQG said, “The new arrangement, the details of which have not yet been officially published, which is supposed to include the disconnection of the educational networks from the government’s Merkava system, the opening of separate bank accounts, and the hiring of accountants to supervise budgetary management, may even make the situation worse.”
MQG listed what it viewed as five problems in the arrangement:
First was “absence of substantive reform.” According to MQG, “The arrangement does not include significant structural or financial changes in the conduct of the networks.”
Second was “continued unlimited funding.” MQG argued that “despite the repeated warnings of the accountant-general and the attorney-general, the arrangement continues to allow funding of the private party-political educational networks, without a complete disconnection from the government budgets and without a plan to repay their debts.”
MQG described the third problem as “increasing the state’s responsibility without compensation.” According to MQG, under the new arrangement, “The state takes on additional responsibility for the conduct of the networks, without requiring them to act in accordance with the rules of proper administration and the curricula of the ministry of education.”
The fourth problem, according to MQG, was a “lack of transparency,” as “the details of the arrangement and its consequences for the public have not been officially published, which raises serious concerns about the integrity of the process.”
Finally, MQG pointed out that Biton himself was the former manager of Bnei Yosef, and therefore was caught in a conflict of interest and should not have been involved in the negotiations.
MQG proposed the following steps:
“1. Full and transparent publication of the details of the arrangement that is being drawn up; 2. The establishment of a government inquiry committee to examine the set of relations between the state and the party-political education networks; 3. Re-examination of the funding model, incorporating the principles of transparency, equality and good governance; 4. Preventing the involvement of those who have a conflict of interest in the decision-making process; and 5. Creating a long-term plan to put the networks on a proper footing and to implement uniform standards throughout the education system.”
Gafni’s office said in response to a Jerusalem Post query that it “did not know” about the issue. The prime minister’s office did not respond.
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