US adds Hamas-linked individual, entities to sanctions list: Treasury

The US imposed sanctions on an individual who acted as a finance official for the Palestinian group Hamas, a network of three financial facilitators and six companies that generated revenue for the US-designated terrorist group, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
The sanctions targeted Hamas’ investment office, which holds assets estimated to be worth more than $500 million, including companies operating in Sudan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and the UAE, the Treasury said.
“Today’s action targets the individuals and companies that Hamas uses to conceal and launder funds,” said Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg while in Israel to discuss counter terrorist financing efforts.
“Hamas has generated vast sums of revenue through its secret investment portfolio while destabilizing Gaza, which is facing harsh living and economic conditions,” she added.
The sanctioned finance official is Abdallah Yusuf Faisal Sabri, a Kuwait-based Jordanian national who the Treasury describes as an “important figure in the terrorist organization since 2006, and played a role in expanding Hamas’s reach in the region.”
The three financial facilitators sanctioned are Ahmed Sharif Abdallah Odeh, a Jordanian national, was in charge of Hamas’ international investment portfolio until 2017; Usama Ali, who was a Hamas operative and maintained direct contact with senior leaders of the group; and Hisham Younis Yahia Qafisheh, a Turkey-based Jordanian national who served as Ali’s deputy and played an important role in transferring funds on behalf of various companies linked to Hamas’s investment portfolio.
The companies sanctioned included Algeria-based Sidar company, UAE-based Itqan real estate JSC, Sudan-based Agrogate holding, Sudan-based Al Rowad real estate development, Turkey-based Trend GYO, and Saudi Arabia-based Anda company.