US Sanctions French Charities in Hamas Crypto Finance Crackdown
The U.S. Treasury has expanded its sanctions against Hamas-linked financial networks, targeting two France-based charities and three individuals for allegedly facilitating cryptocurrency transfers tied to the militant group. This marks a shift in enforcement focus from crypto platforms to registered nonprofit organizations in an allied European country, signaling heightened scrutiny of charitable digital asset use in counterterrorism finance efforts.
Investigators traced cryptocurrency flows through France, though details on the amounts, wallet addresses, and full list of designated parties remain undisclosed. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) relied on blockchain forensics to track these transfers, leveraging analytics platforms to connect wallet activity to real-world entities. The involvement of French authorities in the investigation is unclear, as U.S. investigators may have acted independently using commercial blockchain analysis tools.
Designated parties face asset freezes and transaction prohibitions with U.S. persons or institutions. While these sanctions are administrative actions, not criminal proceedings, they underscore the growing compliance obligations for organizations handling international crypto donations. The move signals to virtual asset service providers the need for rigorous screening against updated sanctions lists.
In a separate development, Plume, an Open Finance platform, launched its nBND vault, a tokenized product backed by the Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND). This expands tokenized fixed income beyond short-duration Treasury products, reflecting institutional demand for actively managed bond exposure. The tokenized U.S. Treasuries market grew from $12 billion in April 2023 to $15 billion in June, highlighting the potential for broader fixed-income tokenization.