The new legal claims come after Binance and Zhao pleaded guilty to US banking law and sanctions violations, which will require them both to pay more than $4bn in penalties.
In November, US prosecutors accused Binance of failing to stop funds and accounts being used by Hamas, and failing to report the transactions to law enforcement, between 2017 and mid-2023.
The Raanans, who are US citizens, were taken hostage by Hamas while visiting Israel to celebrate the 85th birthday of Natalie’s grandmother, who survived the attack. The pair were released by Hamas on Oct 20.
The other claimants include the family of Itay Glisko, 20-year-old Israeli soldier killed in a battle against Hamas on Oct 8, and the uncle of Daniel Levi Ludmir, a Peruvian-born doctor who was murdered while treating the wounded at the site of the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri.
According to Binance’s settlement agreement, US investigators identified “dozens of former Binance users with tens of millions of dollars in transactions” linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terror group based in Gaza.
Binance has previously insisted it works with law enforcement officials to try and block payments to terror groups. In a blog post following the company’s guilty plea, it admitted to “misguided decisions” during its rapid growth.
The lawsuit also seeks damages from Iran and Syria, accusing the states of sponsoring and providing support to Hamas. Iran has denied any involvement in October’s attack.
Binance last year was forced to halt sign ups from new UK users, after an intervention by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Binance and Lord Vaizey did not respond to a request for comment.
