The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three individuals and two charities for allegedly moving more than $2 million to Hamas through cryptocurrency and sham charitable organizations.
The designated charities are Association Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux. The three sanctioned individuals are Saleem al-Zaq, identified as a battalion deputy in Hamas's armed wing; and Faouzi Barika and Amel Oualid, described as France-based fundraisers. The Justice Department also unsealed charges against al-Zaq and announced six related arrests.
Structure of the Alleged Scheme
According to US prosecutors and Treasury officials, the network operated through multiple stages. Donations were collected in France through charities that presented themselves as supporting civilians in Gaza. The funds were then pooled through traditional banking, with some collected in a French bank account before being transferred further.
Al-Zaq allegedly requested cryptocurrency transfers beginning in December 2021, after initially receiving funds through Western Union. Prosecutors say he believed digital currency would make transfers harder to trace and conceal the money's origin and destination.
Barika and Oualid allegedly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in digital assets to al-Zaq, though the Treasury did not specify how much of the total $2 million moved through cryptocurrency channels. When one crypto platform questioned the source of funds in May 2023, the network allegedly switched to another exchange.
Investigation and Detection
Blockchain investigators traced connections between exchange addresses associated with al-Zaq and counterparties that had previously received funds from Hamas-linked wallets, according to Treasury statements.
Treasury described the operation as a sophisticated, multi-year financing architecture that demonstrated Hamas's ability to adapt fundraising methods to evade detection. OFAC had previously sanctioned a Gaza-based crypto exchange, Buy Cash, in October 2023.
Prosecutors reported the network raised approximately $1.75 million through December 2025, including at least $626,000 from US donors.
