US Treasury Imposes Sanctions on Hamas Terrorist Group Members and Financial Facilitators

Introduction

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken decisive action to impose sanctions on key members, operatives, and financial facilitators of the Hamas terrorist group. These individuals are located in Gaza and other countries, including Sudan, Türkiye, Algeria, and Qatar.

This move specifically targets individuals managing assets in a secret Hamas investment portfolio, a Qatar-based financial facilitator with close ties to the Iranian regime, a prominent Hamas commander, and a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange and its operator. The United States is committed to eradicating Hamas’s sources of revenue and is working closely with regional partners and allies to achieve this objective.

Swift and Decisive Action Against Hamas’s Financiers

The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators in response to their brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen affirms that the U.S. Treasury has a proven track record of disrupting terror finance and will not hesitate to use its tools against Hamas.

The primary goal is to deny Hamas terrorists the ability to raise and use funds for carrying out atrocities and terrorizing the people of Israel. This includes imposing sanctions and coordinating with allies and partners to track, freeze, and seize any Hamas-related assets in their jurisdictions.

Rooting out Hamas’s Sources of Revenue

This recent action builds upon previous efforts by OFAC to target officials and companies involved in managing Hamas’s secret international investment portfolio. The Treasury has been actively imposing sanctions on Hamas and its networks since 2004.

In addition to the funds received from Iran, Hamas generates vast sums of revenue through its global portfolio of investments. These investments, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, are carried out by companies operating in various countries, including Sudan, Algeria, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and others.

Under the guise of legitimate businesses, these companies have attempted to conceal Hamas’s control over their assets. The investment network is directed by senior Hamas officials, allowing them to live in luxury while ordinary Palestinians in Gaza face harsh living and economic conditions.

Individuals and Entities Designated

OFAC has designated six individuals associated with Hamas’s secret investment portfolio, two senior Hamas officials, and a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange and its operator for their involvement in supporting and financing Hamas.

The designated individuals include Musa Muhammad Salim Dudin, a member of Hamas’s Political Bureau and Investment Office official; Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair, a Sudan-based Hamas financier; Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, Aiman Ahmad Al-Duwaik, and Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah, Hamas operatives in Türkiye and Algeria.

Dealing with Terrorist Groups

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the Department of State since October 1997. They have also been listed as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) since October 2001.

Hamas Virtual Currency Fundraising

In June 2021, Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terrorist Financing seized virtual currency wallets linked to a Hamas fundraising campaign. One of the seized wallet addresses belonged to Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company, a Gaza-based business providing money transfer and virtual currency exchange services.

Buy Cash has not only been involved in Hamas fundraising but has also facilitated fund transfers for affiliates of other terrorist groups. In 2019, a Bitcoin transfer equivalent to over $2,000 was received by Buy Cash’s Bitcoin wallet, facilitated by a Türkiye-based money services business operator and an al-Qa’ida affiliate. In 2017, Buy Cash was registered by individuals involved in payment for procurement on behalf of ISIS.

Ahmed M. M. Alaqad, based in Gaza, registered Buy Cash’s domain and acts as the representative and owner of Buy Cash.

Read More of this Story at home.treasury.gov – 2023-10-18 12:30:00

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