Treasury Hits Hamas Financing Network with Crypto Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned a Hamas financing network, accusing it of moving over $2 million through sham charities and cryptocurrency wallets between 2020 and 2026.

The scheme was led by Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq, a deputy in Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades military wing, who also worked as a photographer for the group's media office. He allegedly oversaw a network that used money services businesses and cryptocurrency wallets to funnel funds to Hamas.

The Treasury said that al-Zaq and two French fundraisers, Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid, collected more than $2 million for Hamas between 2020 and 2026. Roughly $1.5 million of this amount was collected after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The designations freeze any U.S. assets held by the individuals and entities involved, while foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for them risk secondary sanctions.