US Treasury Targets Hamas Funding Networks in New Crypto Sanctions
The United States has intensified its crackdown on the financial infrastructure supporting Hamas by imposing sanctions on two French charities and three individuals accused of funneling millions of dollars to the militant organization. This latest action by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) highlights the increasing use of cryptocurrency alongside traditional banking channels to move illicit funds across international borders.
Disrupting Digital and Traditional Asset Flows
The sanctions specifically target Association Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux, along with facilitators Faouzi Barika, Amel Oualid, and Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq. According to the Treasury, Barika and Oualid—both based in France—coordinated the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency to al-Zaq, a Gaza-based deputy battalion commander in Hamas’s military wing. While the total fundraising operation is estimated to have collected over $2 million between 2020 and 2024, the Treasury made a clear distinction regarding the specific role digital assets played in bypassing conventional financial surveillance. By designating these entities, U.S. authorities are signaling a more aggressive stance in tracing digital-asset transfers to disrupt the broader Hamas financing network.
New Compliance Burdens for the Crypto Industry
The designations impose immediate and stringent requirements on crypto exchanges, custodians, and payment processors. Under the current framework, any U.S.-regulated firm in possession of property belonging to these sanctioned parties must block access to those assets and report them to OFAC within ten business days. This mandate also extends to any company owned 50% or more by the blocked individuals, forcing compliance teams to look beyond the primary names on the list. Furthermore, the Treasury issued a warning to foreign financial institutions, noting that they could face secondary sanctions for facilitating significant transactions for these parties. This potentially expands the enforcement reach to offshore exchanges and intermediaries that service these illicit networks.
The Evolving Regulatory Landscape
By treating digital assets under the same sanctions framework as fiat currency, the U.S. government is reinforcing the expectation that the crypto sector must maintain the same level of oversight as traditional banks. Regulators do not require firms to convert frozen cryptocurrency into dollars, but they must ensure that sanctioned parties remain unable to access or transfer their holdings. As authorities continue to identify specific wallet addresses and intermediaries tied to this network, the burden on crypto firms will likely grow, requiring them to reassess their historical exposure and implement more sophisticated screening processes to catch evolving fundraising tactics.
