The U.S. Department of the Treasury has targeted a Hamas financing network that allegedly used sham charitable organizations and cryptocurrency channels to move more than $2 million to Hamas.
The Treasury announced the action on October 2, 2026, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The action designated a member of Hamas’s military wing, two France-based individuals and two affiliated entities that Treasury said provided financing to Hamas.
How the Network Operated
According to Treasury, the network operated over multiple years and used purported charitable organizations and cryptocurrency channels to raise and transfer funds.
Treasury said more than $2 million was collected for Hamas between 2020 and 2026, including approximately $1.5 million collected after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
The individuals identified by Treasury were based in France and operated organizations that were presented as charities supporting humanitarian purposes.
Treasury said the organizations were instead used to raise and transfer funds to a Hamas-linked financial facilitator.
The network also used cryptocurrency, with Treasury stating that hundreds of thousands of dollars were transferred through cryptocurrency to the Hamas-linked individual.
Sanctions Designations
OFAC designated the individuals and entities under Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886.
Treasury described Executive Order 13224, as amended, as the United States’ core counterterrorism sanctions authority.
Hamas had previously been designated under the same authority.
The action is part of a broader U.S. government operation involving federal and local law enforcement agencies aimed at disrupting fundraising activities and financial infrastructure associated with Hamas.
Sanctions Implications
Following the designations, property and interests in property belonging to the designated persons that are located in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
Entities owned directly or indirectly, individually or in aggregate, 50% or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked under the applicable sanctions framework.
Unless authorized by an OFAC general or specific license or otherwise exempt, U.S. persons generally cannot conduct transactions involving blocked persons or their property.
Treasury also stated that sanctions violations can result in civil or criminal penalties and that OFAC may impose civil penalties on a strict-liability basis.
Why This Matters for AML and KYC Professionals
The action highlights the continued convergence of AML, sanctions compliance, terrorist financing risk and cryptocurrency monitoring.
KYC and sanctions teams should consider the risks created when customers, counterparties or transactions involve charitable organizations, cryptocurrency wallets or jurisdictions connected to higher-risk activity.
The case also demonstrates why sanctions screening should not be treated as a one-time onboarding exercise.
Compliance teams may need to consider ongoing screening of customers and relevant counterparties against updated sanctions information, together with transaction monitoring and escalation processes.
The use of cryptocurrency channels also reinforces the need for firms with digital asset exposure to understand the relationship between wallet activity, customer identity and sanctions risk.
Key Takeaways
- Treasury announced the action on October 2, 2026.
- OFAC designated a Hamas military-wing member, two France-based individuals and two affiliated entities.
- Treasury said the network moved more than $2 million to Hamas.
- Cryptocurrency was among the channels used to transfer funds.
- The designations were made under Executive Order 13224, as amended by Executive Order 13886.
- Blocked property involving U.S. persons is subject to OFAC reporting and transaction restrictions.
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