The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the network operated from 2020 through 2026, connecting Gaza-based Hamas military-wing member Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq wit
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the network operated from 2020 through 2026, connecting Gaza-based Hamas military-wing member Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq with France-based fundraisers Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid.
According to the Treasury announcement, the network collected more than $2 million for Hamas, including $1.5 million after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Crypto represented only part of that total. Treasury said Barika and Oualid sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency to al-Zaq, who allegedly funneled funds to Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades.
Charities and Crypto Worked TogetherTreasury identified two France-based organizations at the center of the network: Association Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux.
The organizations presented themselves as humanitarian charities collecting donations for civilians in Gaza, according to OFAC. Treasury alleges that funds were instead transferred to al-Zaq, who also promoted their fundraising accounts through his own social-media channels.
The case fits a broader pattern in which crypto is one component of larger sanctions-evasion and illicit-finance networks. Previous U.S. enforcement has targeted Garantex and Grinex over alleged crypto laundering and sanctions evasion, while proposed stablecoin KYC rules would extend stronger AML and counter-terrorist-financing requirements to regulated U.S. issuers.
