Alleged Hamas financier arrested in the UK

Mohammad Yousef Hasna, of Istanbul, was arrested in the United Kingdom on Friday and charged with funneling money and supplies to Hamas under the guise of humanitarian aid, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to prosecutors, Hasna, 45—also known as Orhan Korkmaz and Abu al-Baraa—used his position as global director of a U.K.-registered charity to coordinate with senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, a member of the terrorist group’s politburo.

Federal prosecutors allege that Hasna arranged cash deliveries to Hamad, procured supplies and organized their transportation into Gaza. He also allegedly directed goods to warehouses and recipients selected by Hamad.

According to the complaint, Hasna and Hamad attempted to conceal where supplies were stored and delivered, including by recording images that excluded signs identifying warehouses.

The unnamed charity reported that its gross income nearly doubled after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, increasing from about $14.8 million in fiscal 2023 to $81.6 million the following year.

“The money that flows from sham charities like the one described in the complaint fuels Hamas’s terrorist activities, including the atrocities the group committed on Oct. 7,” said John A. Eisenberg, U.S. assistant attorney general for national security. “Hamas cannot function without injections of money through its illicit financial networks.”

The Israeli Security Agency and U.K. authorities assisted the United States with the investigation, according to the Justice Department.

Hasna faces charges of conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to finance terrorism and financing terrorism. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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