Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning five individuals and five sham charities located abroad that are prominent financial supporters of Hamas’s Military Wing and its terrorist activities. The individuals and entities sanctioned today are responsible for funding Hamas’s Military Wing under the pretense of conducting humanitarian work, both internationally and in Gaza. Treasury is also targeting a separate fraudulent charity linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
As outlined in Treasury’s 2024 National Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment, terrorist financing risks still exist primarily in the context of sham charities abroad. This includes terrorist networks that establish seemingly legitimate charitable non-profit organizations (NPOs) under the guise of providing humanitarian assistance but instead are primarily utilized for funneling money to terrorist organizations.
“Today’s action underscores the importance of safeguarding the charitable sector from abuse by terrorists like Hamas and the PFLP, who continue to leverage sham charities as fronts for funding their terrorist and military operations,” said Deputy Secretary Michael Faulkender. “Treasury will continue to use all available tools to prevent Hamas, the PFLP, and other terrorist actors from exploiting the humanitarian situation in Gaza to fund their violent activities at the expense of their own people.”
Today’s action, which is being taken pursuant to the counterterrorism authority in Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, highlights the abuse of the nonprofit sector by terrorist financiers to illicitly generate, store, and move funds. The PFLP was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of State in October 1997 and October 2001, respectively.
The United States continues to closely coordinate with its partners in targeting Hamas, including a joint designation with Australia and the United Kingdom on January 22, 2024 that targeted Hamas financial facilitators, as well as three actions with the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024, December 13, 2023, and November 14, 2023 targeting Hamas leaders and financiers.
TERRORISTS’ EXPLOITATION OF THE NPO SECTOR
Hamas and the PFLP have long abused the trust of the international community and public support for legitimate humanitarian causes to fund their terrorist activities and bring violence to the Israeli and Palestinian people. As Hamas continues to hold hostages, including two American citizens, following the October 7, 2023 attack, Treasury remains committed to exposing terrorists and terrorist organizations that seek to abuse the NPO sector to raise funds under the façade of humanitarian support.