The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on five individuals linked to a network that reportedly raised over $2 million for Hamas over six years through fake charities and cryptocurrencies. A significant portion of this amount, hundreds of thousands of dollars, was transferred using digital assets.

Among those sanctioned is Salim Abdallah Salim al-Zaq, the deputy commander of the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. According to the Treasury, he managed a financial network that utilized money transfer services and cryptocurrency wallets to move funds.

Included in the sanctions are Fawzi Barika and Amel Walid, both based in France, along with their associated entities, Association Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux.

U.S. officials allege that these organizations solicited donations under the guise of humanitarian aid for residents of the Gaza Strip, which were then partially funneled to al-Zaq, who redirected the funds to Hamas.

From 2020 to 2026, Barika, Walid, and al-Zaq collected more than $2 million, with approximately $1.5 million raised following the terrorist group's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The Treasury specified that Barika and Walid sent al-Zaq "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in cryptocurrency, although it did not assert that the entire claimed amount was transmitted through digital assets.

Al-Zaq also promoted Barika's and Walid's fundraising efforts on his social media platforms. He co-founded Association Baraka with Barika, while Walid established Ensemble C Mieux.

Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, stated, "Terrorist organizations like Hamas rely on complex financial intermediaries and fraudulent schemes."

Sanctions Affect Assets and Counterparties

All assets belonging to the sanctioned individuals that are located in the U.S. or controlled by American persons are subject to blocking and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Companies that are directly or indirectly owned 50% or more by one or more sanctioned individuals are also included in the restrictions. American persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with them.

Foreign financial institutions that knowingly engage in significant transactions on behalf of the sanctioned individuals may face secondary sanctions.

The Treasury described this action as part of a broader FBI operation targeting Hamas financing channels, including those operating within the United States.

Cryptocurrency as a Financing Channel

In September, the U.S. Department of Justice published a letter from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which was included in confiscation case materials. The letter advised donors to avoid using Binance for transfers to prevent wallet blocks, recommending alternatives such as Trust Wallet, Bybit, OKX, Kast, or RedotPay, followed by transfers to an external address on the TRON network.

Noah Perlman, Binance's compliance director, commented, "When terrorist groups advise avoiding Binance, it shows that our control mechanisms are working."

However, past assessments of the scale of Hamas's financing through cryptocurrencies have often been questioned.

In 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) analyzed financial institutions' reports of suspicious transactions totaling $165 million, allegedly linked to the group. Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo noted that only a portion of this amount could be related to Hamas.

In October 2023, analysts from Elliptic pointed out discrepancies in estimates of cryptocurrency fundraising levels. They reported that following the events of October 7, approximately $21,000 in new donations were received by known wallets associated with the group, with a significant portion of those funds later frozen.

Experts also noted that not all assets that passed through exchanges, exchanges, and payment services interacting with specific related addresses could automatically be classified as financing for the group.

It is worth noting that in September 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the FBI had seized around $560,000 in cryptocurrencies intended for Hamas's military wing. The agency also took control of domains and servers used for fundraising and recruitment and identified thousands of individuals attempting to transfer money to the group.

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