The United States has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of the Palestinian militant group Hamas or on five financiers of the organization, three of whom are operatives based in Turkey.
The US Department of State made the announcement on Friday.
The Rewards for Justice Program, administered by the Department of State, is targeting five individuals identified as key financial facilitators for Hamas, namely, Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Khair, Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah and Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah. The US previously designated them as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).
Three of the named individuals — Alshawa, Jahleb and Jadallah — are associated with Hamas’s investment network in Turkey. Alshawa, serving as the CEO of the Turkish real estate investment fund Trend GYO, and Jahleb, acting as the investment portfolio secretary for Hamas, are critical figures in coordinating activities for Hamas-controlled companies in the country. Likewise, Jadallah has been involved in various capacities within several investment portfolio companies.
Turkey, which does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization, has long been known to be a safe haven for the group’s leaders.
The country has recently responded to the US sanctions against shareholders of the Trend GYO.
Turkish authorities said they conducted a thorough review of the financial activities of the company, which is a significant part of Hamas’s global asset holdings, and stated that there was no misuse of the Turkish financial system.
Among the targeted individuals in today’s action, Khair, known as “Hamza,” is a Sudan-based financier with a history of transferring substantial funds to Hamas. His operations have included managing numerous companies within Hamas’s investment portfolio. Notably, Hamza has also been linked to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden-related entities in Sudan.
Nasrallah, another key figure, is known for his extensive ties to Iranian entities and his role in transferring large sums to Hamas, including its military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassim Brigades.
The Department of State says it aims to uncover and disrupt any source of revenue for Hamas. This includes identifying major donors, financial institutions facilitating transactions for Hamas, businesses or investments controlled by the group, front companies engaged in procurement of dual-use technology and any criminal schemes benefiting the organization.
This move follows a series of sanctions imposed by the US on Hamas after its incursion into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Subsequent Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks on Gaza have so far claimed the lives of more than 22,000 people, according to the local authorities, in addition to leading to vast destruction in the enclave.