U.S. Treasury sanctions Hamas-linked flotilla organizers and network operatives

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Treasury sanctions Hamas-linked network

Highlights

U.S. Treasury designated four individuals linked to the Hamas-aligned PCPA-led flotilla and leaders of Samidoun, expanding sanctions under Executive Order 13224.
Treasury additionally sanctioned the Palestinian Scholars Association, Marwan Abu Ras, Karim Sayed Ahmed Moghny, Muhammad Jamal Hassan al-Najjar, and Sherif Ahmed Ewis Ahmed for supporting Hamas or HASM.
U.S. persons and foreign financial institutions face broadened compliance risks, blocked property, transaction prohibitions, and potential secondary sanctions or penalties for dealing with designated entities.

Designations target flotilla organizers and support networks

As reported by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control is designating four individuals associated with the pro-Hamas flotilla organized by the U.S.-designated Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad, or PCPA, as it attempts to access Gaza in support of Hamas. Treasury also says it is acting against key actors operating within Hamas-aligned Muslim Brotherhood networks, arguing that Hamas uses international partners to extend political influence, facilitate terrorist activity and disrupt efforts toward a lasting peace in Gaza.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the flotilla is an attempt to undermine President Trump’s push for peace in the region and adds that the department will continue targeting Hamas’ global financial support structure. The measures are taken under Executive Order 13224, the counterterrorism authority under which Hamas was designated by the U.S. Department of State in 2001, alongside its separate status as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

The department identifies Saif Hashim Kamel Abukishek, a Jordan-based member of the PCPA General Secretariat, and Hisham Abdallah Sulayman Abu Mahfuz, the Spain-based acting secretary general and president of PCPA, as designated for being leaders or officials of the organization. It also names Belgium-based Mohammed Khatib, Samidoun’s European coordinator, and Madrid-based Jaldia Abubakra Aueda, Samidoun’s coordinator in the Spanish capital, under the same authority for leadership roles in Samidoun.

Treasury further designates the Palestinian Scholars Association and Marwan Abu Ras for acting on behalf of Hamas, saying the group is part of a religious coordination structure created in Gaza to align religious discourse with Hamas ideology. Additional designations include Egypt-based Karim Sayed Ahmed Moghny for acting for Hamas and materially supporting HASM, Muhammad Jamal Hassan al-Najjar for materially supporting Hamas, and Sherif Ahmed Ewis Ahmed for acting on behalf of HASM.

Compliance risks and sanctions exposure broaden

Treasury says so-called humanitarian flotillas organized by or supporting sanctioned parties create significant compliance risks for financial institutions. The department says it has separately worked with nonprofit organizations to support the delivery of legitimate humanitarian aid to conflict zones while urging charities and banks to maintain a risk-based approach.

Under the action, all property and interests in property of the designated individuals and entities that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Any entities owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more blocked persons are also blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving their property unless authorized or exempt.

Treasury says civil or criminal penalties can apply to sanctions violations by U.S. and foreign persons, while OFAC can impose civil penalties on a strict liability basis. It also warns that foreign financial institutions participating in certain transactions involving those designated today could face secondary sanctions, including restrictions on correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States.

Our earlier article on the U.S. Treasury’s counter-terror finance push outlined Washington’s call for allies to intensify coordinated sanctions enforcement against Iran-linked financial channels and other illicit networks. It highlighted Treasury’s view of sanctions as a core economic-security tool, alongside plans to update and refine designations to keep pace with evasion tactics. The piece also emphasized multinational intelligence sharing and operational cooperation to disrupt cross-border financing that supports militant groups and criminal organizations.

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