Argentina’s Financial Information Unit (UIF) has frozen cryptocurrency assets connected to two individuals believed to be affiliated with Hay’et Tahrir al‑Sham (HTS), a Syrian militant group. The assets were blocked after suspicious activity was detected on local crypto exchanges.
According to UIF Director Paul Starc, the freeze was executed under Article 6 of Argentina’s Law 27,734, which authorises asset seizures related to terrorist financing. The case has now been referred to Federal Judge María Eugenia Capuchetti.
The individuals involved include a Russian national residing in Argentina and another foreign national who has previously been sanctioned by both the U.S. Treasury and Israel’s counter-terror financing authorities. Although the UIF noted the transactions were relatively small, they were routed through accounts that had already raised concerns due to prior red flags.
While there is no indication that the funds were intended to finance attacks within Argentina, the nature of the transactions and their associations prompted swift enforcement action.
This marks the first known instance of Argentina freezing crypto assets linked to HTS, a group originally formed from al-Qaeda and other extremist factions. Though HTS was previously designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the U.S., that status was revoked in June 2024 following a regime shift in Syria.
Argentina has been stepping up its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) efforts in the crypto sector. In line with international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines, the country is implementing new rules for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to improve oversight and prevent misuse of digital currencies.
