FinCEN Spearheads International Financial Probe of Hamas Funding - Qatar, Iran, Turkey and Palestinian Authority Obvious Targets
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Key Points:
· FinCEN reaches out to Israel.
· Multinational efforts underway to choke off Hamas funding.
· Qatar, Iran, Turkey and Palestinian Authority fill Hamas coffers.
· Houthi aggression against U.S.
· John Bolton chimes in.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), in the wake of the October 7 terror attack by Hamas against Israel, has taken the lead in creating an international group dubbed the Counter Terrorist Financing Taskforce – Israel (CTFTI) with the immediate goal of putting the financial screws to Hamas.
The mission of FinCEN, which is an arm of the Treasury Department, includes “combating money laundering and its related crimes, including terrorism.”
FinCEN publicly jumped into combat against Hamas when it released a readout of an October 18 virtual meeting between its director, Andrea Gacki, and Ilit Ostrovitch-Levi, director-general of the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financial Prohibition Authority, to discuss areas of cooperation, including financial intelligence sharing in support of Israel. “FinCEN is redoubling its efforts to combat the financing of terrorism alongside the Israeli agency and other strategic FIU [Foreign Intelligence Unit] partners during this critical time,” it said in the readout.
Formal Launch of CFTFI
On November 27, FinCEN published on its website “a public statement recognizing the formation of like-minded FIUs to strengthen efforts to disrupt international financial flows to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”
A hefty partnership of national FIUs established the international task force “immediately following the brutal terror attacks by Hamas against Israel on October 7,” according to the public statement.
“The purpose of the task force is to combine and strengthen the efforts to disrupt the international money flows related to Hamas and support global anti-terrorism efforts through the coordination of financial intelligence and information sharing,” the statement noted.
The CTFTI is led by four co-chairs – Germany, Israel, the Netherlands and the United States. They are joined by the FIUs of Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and “other like-minded FIUs.”
To disrupt the financing of Hamas and other terrorist groups, the task force committed its members to take concrete action to:
· Enhance financial intelligence on terrorist-financing related matters and associated financial flows and economic activities; and
· Expedite and increase sharing of financial intelligence in terrorist financing-related matters and associated financial flows and economic activities.
Sources of Hamas Funding
A recent article by Reuters addressed this question, while notably refusing to call Hamas a terrorist organization. In its lede, the article stated: “Palestinian militant group Hamas uses a global financing network to funnel support from charities and friendly nations, passing cash through Gaza tunnels or using cryptocurrencies to bypass international sanctions, according to experts and officials.”
Two-Faced Qatar
Qatar is seemingly the largest individual donor country – either directly, indirectly or both – to the terror organization.
A recent article in Foreign Policy titled “Why the U.S. Tolerates Qatar’s Hamas Ties” serves as a useful primer on U.S.-Qatar relations. The article cited a relevant piece that appeared in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last year.
“Doha subsidizes Hamas to the tune of $360 million to $480 million a year,” said the Haaretz article. The author stated that one third of the amount goes to purchasing fuel from Egypt which winds up in the hands of Hamas to be sold for its own revenue, another third goes to poor families, and the final third pays the Hamas bureaucracy. “Without Qatari money, Hamas’s governorship of Gaza would have become untenable and its popularity among Palestinians would have collapsed,” the author concluded.
Iranian Aggression
Iran, which according to the State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2022 “continued to be the leading state sponsor of terrorism, facilitating a wide range of terrorist and other illicit activities around the world.” In this vein, it is extremely difficult to reconcile the Biden administration’s recent willingness to release some $6 billion in sanctioned Iranian assets with the State Department’s report that declares: “In 2022, Iran continued providing weapons systems and other support to Hamas and other U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist groups, including Palestine Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. These groups were behind numerous deadly attacks originating in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Turkish Treachery
On November 27, the Treasury Department announced that Brian Nelson, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, was heading to Turkey for the purpose of “furthering U.S. efforts to deny Hamas and other terrorist organizations the ability to raise and move funds.”
In the eyes of the U.S. government, Turkey is an adept fundraiser for Hamas. According to a November 30 article published by Reuters, Nelson used the term “prominent” to describe Turkey’s role in generating cash for Hamas. “We are profoundly concerned with Hamas’s ability to continue to fund raise and find financial support (here in Turkey) for potential future terrorist attacks,” Nelson told reporters in Istanbul.
Palestinian Authority Duplicity
It would seem that there is a pot of gold awaiting Hamas adherents and other terrorists who can handle a stint in prison while awaiting their release in exchange for Israelis held hostage.
According to the authoritative Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian Authority is providing nine of the first 78 terrorists released in exchange for Israeli hostages lifetime pensions amounting to, collectively, 19,500 shekels per month. These released terrorists were imprisoned for more than five years. Interestingly, five of them who are considered Jerusalem residents will received what appears to be a cost-of-living bonus of 300 shekels monthly.
The U.S., European Union members, Norway and other donor countries “are either directly funding or facilitating terror rewards,” says PMW.
Biden Administration’s Failure
The lack of White House and State Department focus on the issue of Hamas funding is a slap in the face of FinCEN and a stab in the back of Israel.
It is highly relevant to ask who is actually making U.S. policy regarding Hamas and Israel.
Postscript: Houthi attack U.S. warship and John Bolton chimes in
Meanwhile, at press time, there are two relevant items worthy of mention.
· The Iran-backed Houthis of Yemen have claimed responsibility for an attack on the USS Carney and two civilian ships in the Red Sea. Per the AP: “Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the attacks, saying the first vessel was hit by a missile and the second by a drone while in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. He described the ships as allegedly ignoring warnings from Houthi officials prior to the attack.” The strait is a strategic choke point for international shipping.
· On November 30, Secretary of State Blinken stated: “Our immediate focus is working with our partners to extend the pause so that we can continue to get more hostages out of Gaza and more assistance in.” This and other recent remarks from the Biden administration drew a harsh response from John Bolton, former national security advisor under President Trump. On December 2, Bolton stated on News Nation: “I think Israel's best judgment here is simply to proceed militarily to achieve the objective it says it wants, which is the elimination of Hamas. I think the second-guessing by the Biden administration, the efforts to prolong the pause to turn it into a full ceasefire, are objectively pro-Hamas because it denies Israel the self-defense right it has to eliminate the terrorist threat.”
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