One indicted, six arrested in US and France in same alleged plot
The US Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned two France-based charities and three individuals, designating them as part of an alleged Hamas fundraising network that investigators said moved more than $2 million to Hamas through deceptive charitable fronts and cryptocurrency channels over a six-year period beginning in 2020. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed the measures on the charities — Association Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux — along with Saleem Alzaq, whom investigators identified as a member of Hamas’s military wing based in Gaza, and France-based Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid.
According to Treasury, Barika and Oualid run the two charities “ostensibly to raise money for humanitarian purposes to aid Gazan civilians.” Investigators alleged that the network moved more than $2 million to Hamas, and the three individuals allegedly collected that amount for Hamas during a six-year period beginning in 2020. Treasury said $1.5 million of that total was raised after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which Israel responded to by launching war in Gaza. Treasury announced that all US property of those designated is “blocked and must be reported” to OFAC, and that entities owned by those individuals are also blocked.
“Terrorist organizations like Hamas rely on sophisticated financial facilitators and fraudulent schemes designed to exploit the public to sustain their operations,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to identify, isolate, and impose consequences on those who provide Hamas with the financial lifelines it needs to survive.” The Trump administration called the combined sanctions and criminal case “extraordinary counter-terrorism work” exposing “a sophisticated, multi-year financing architecture.”
In a parallel action, the Justice Department on Friday unsealed an indictment against Alzaq, 45, on charges of conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, among other counts. Jamie McDonald, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that Alzaq “operated an international Hamas fundraising network that collects donations from individuals around the world, including … in the United States.” Justice Department officials described Alzaq as a Hamas member in the Gaza Strip and a battalion deputy in the group’s armed wing, and accused him of serving in “a Hamas propaganda office” as a photographer who “posted propaganda” of the organization on social media.
Three men were arrested in the United States as part of the same investigation: Omar Adhami and Abdel Adhami, residents of Covington, Louisiana, a New Orleans suburb; and Raed Yousef of Lutz, Florida, a Tampa suburb. David Courcelle, the US attorney for Louisiana’s eastern district, alleged in a statement that the Adhamis provided Alzaq with “resources intended to fund Hamas’ relentless reign of terror.” The Adhamis and Yousef were accused of contributing tens of thousands of dollars to Hamas. They face charges including conspiracy to provide material support to “a designated foreign terrorist organization” and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and could face up to 80 years in prison if convicted as charged, according to the Justice Department.
Three other associates were arrested in France as part of the same alleged plot. The FBI said those men were engaging in a conspiracy to “funnel money to Hamas and fuel violent attacks.” Todd Blanche, the Trump administration’s attorney general, said in a statement that “anyone who finances or assists” terrorist groups should expect to face federal prosecution. FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency would “never forget the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas” on October 7, 2023, and would “never stop … efforts to cut off funding to Hamas terrorists.”