US Treasury designates Hamas-related entities based in Turkey
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) implemented on Friday a second set of sanctions on Hamas-related individuals and financial networks, including Turkey-based ones, as a result of Oct.7 attacks on Israel.
The sanctions target Hamas’ investment portfolio and individuals who are involved in helping Hamas-affiliated companies evade sanctions. Furthermore, the Treasury is also designating a Hamas official based in Iran, along with members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Trend GYO, a company based in Turkey, has been designated as part of Hamas’s investment portfolio. It plays a significant role in Hamas’s global assets, which were estimated to be worth over $500 million. The three primary shareholders of Trend GYO are Alaeddin Senguler, Gulsah Yigidoglu, and Arwa Mangoush.
Shareholders Alaeddin Senguler, Gulsah Yigidoglu, and Arwa Mangoush are designated for providing support to Hamas under E.O. 13224.
Additionally, a Gaza-based entity that has been used as a channel for illegal Iranian funds to reach Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is also being identified.
“We will not hesitate to take action to further degrade Hamas’s ability to commit horrific terrorist attacks by relentlessly targeting its financial activities and streams of funding,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said.
These sanctions build upon OFAC’s recent October 18 designation, which included Hamas operatives, financial facilitators, and officials and companies involved in managing Hamas’s secret international investments.
The designated individuals are crucial in managing companies within Hamas’s investment portfolio, bypassing Treasury sanctions. This highlights Iran’s significant role in providing financial, logistical, and operational support to Hamas.
The individuals mentioned in the report are Khaled Qaddoumi, Hamas’s representative to Iran; Ali Morshed Shirazi and Mostafa Mohammad Khani, IRGC-QF officials providing support to PIJ, Hamas, and Hezbollah; Ali Ahmad Faizullahi, an IRGC commander training Hamas and Hezbollah; and Nasser Al-Sheikh Ali, director of PIJ-affiliated al-Ansar Charity Association.
The entities include the Martyrs Foundation (Bonyad Shahid) and companies owned by Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair, a Sudan-based Hamas financier.