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The U.S. Treasury sanctioned a Hamas military-wing member, two France-based individuals and two charities over an alleged fundraising network that collected more than $2 million from 2020 to 2026. Treasury said hundreds of thousands of dollars were sent in cryptocurrency to a Gaza-based Hamas commander; it did not say that all funds were crypto.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned five parties on October 5 over what it described as a fundraising network that collected more than $2 million for Hamas between 2020 and 2026, using cryptocurrency and purported humanitarian donations. Treasury said the alleged operation included hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto transfers to a Gaza-based Hamas commander, but did not claim the entire sum was raised or moved digitally.
The designations cover a Hamas military-wing member, two France-based individuals, and two charities. Treasury identified the individuals as Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid and alleged they solicited funds in France for humanitarian causes before transferring money to Hamas. The department said the network collected more than $2 million over six years, including $1.5 million after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Treasury separately alleged that Barika and Oualid sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency to Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq, described by the department as a deputy battalion commander in Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades in Gaza. The agency did not specify what proportion of the overall fundraising total was cryptocurrency, nor did the report establish that every donation collected by the network reached Hamas.
The sanctions block property and interests in property belonging to designated parties when those assets are within U.S. jurisdiction. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with them. Treasury also said foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for the designated parties could face penalties, and the restrictions apply to entities owned at least 50% by one or more designated persons.
Sanctions Reach Beyond Crypto Transfers
The action shows how U.S. authorities are targeting financial facilitators and fundraising channels they allege support Hamas, rather than treating cryptocurrency as the group’s sole or main source of funding. The alleged network combined digital transfers with donations presented as humanitarian, illustrating why investigators may examine how funds are solicited and routed as well as which payment technology is used.
The restrictions have practical consequences beyond the named parties. U.S. businesses and individuals generally must avoid prohibited dealings, while foreign financial institutions may face secondary-sanctions exposure if they knowingly process significant transactions involving those designated. The announcement may also prompt charities and payment providers to scrutinize fundraising identities, claimed purposes and transfers more closely. Treasury’s allegations, however, are not by themselves a full public accounting of the funds or a judicial finding about each party’s conduct.
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A Broader Focus on Funding Networks
The Treasury action follows earlier U.S. measures involving crypto-related fundraising and payments linked to Hamas. The department’s approach, as described in the source report, reflects a focus on wider financial networks: authorities have said militant groups continue to rely mainly on conventional finance even as they use cryptocurrency in some transactions. The current allegation combines both forms of fundraising rather than identifying crypto as the network’s only channel.
The report also noted that the sanctions came after reports the previous month that the Al-Qassam Brigades advised donors not to send funds directly from Binance and instead to use other crypto services before moving funds to a TRON wallet. That reported guidance is separate from Treasury’s allegations in this case; the available account does not establish that the advice concerned the same parties or transfers.
Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 and is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and numerous other jurisdictions. That status is relevant to the legal consequences of providing material support or processing funds, but the Treasury action specifically concerns the parties and conduct named in its announcement.
“Terrorist organizations like Hamas rely on sophisticated financial facilitators and fraudulent schemes designed to exploit the public.”
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
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Details of Transfers Remain Unclear
The public account does not identify the full route, timing or transaction records for the alleged transfers, or explain how Treasury calculated the more-than-$2-million total. It also does not specify how much was collected through cryptocurrency, how much came through conventional payments or donations, or how much ultimately reached Hamas. Treasury’s statement, as summarized in the report, does not provide a detailed breakdown for each of the two charities.
The designations are an administrative sanctions action, and the available material does not include responses from Barika, Oualid, the charities or the other designated party. It is unclear whether any of them contest Treasury’s allegations or whether related criminal charges or court proceedings have been filed. The reported advice about crypto services and a TRON wallet also has not been publicly tied to the specific network described in the sanctions announcement.
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Compliance and Case Developments
Financial institutions and other covered organizations will need to apply the new designations to relevant screening and compliance processes, including checks for entities owned at least 50% by designated parties. U.S. persons are generally barred from transactions with those named, while foreign institutions will have to weigh the stated risk of penalties for knowingly facilitating significant transactions.
Further public details could clarify the alleged funds’ routes, the role of each charity and the share moved through crypto. The source material does not give a schedule for additional Treasury action or describe pending court proceedings, so any next legal or enforcement steps remain uncertain.
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Key Questions
Who did the U.S. Treasury sanction?
Treasury designated a Hamas military-wing member, France-based individuals Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid, and two charities. The source report does not name the charities.
How much money was the network accused of raising?
Treasury said the network collected more than $2 million between 2020 and 2026, including $1.5 million after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The department did not say the full amount was cryptocurrency.
How was cryptocurrency allegedly used?
Treasury alleged that Barika and Oualid sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto to Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq, described as a Gaza-based deputy battalion commander in Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades. The public account does not give a transaction breakdown.
What do the sanctions prohibit?
They block designated parties’ property under U.S. jurisdiction and generally bar U.S. persons from transactions with them. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions could face secondary sanctions; the restrictions also cover companies at least 50% owned by designated parties.
Have the accused parties responded?
The source material does not report responses from the named individuals or charities. It also does not say whether criminal charges or court proceedings have been filed in connection with these allegations.
Source: rss
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