Once more, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Treasury has imposed sanctions on on-chain wallets, this time against “financial facilitators” and other Hamas-supporting entities. An example of such an organization is “Buy Cash” a Gaza-based virtual currency and money transmission company. Ahmed M. M. Alaqad, the proprietor of the exchange and a resident of Gaza, registered the Buy Cash domain in 2015. Additionally, OFAC has included Alaqad on its blacklist.
OFAC announced sanctions against Hamas operatives and financial facilitators in a notice dated October 18, subsequent to the organization’s assault on Israel. Gaza-based virtual currency exchange and its operator with a Bitcoin wallet address were among the entities added to OFAC’s list of specially designated nationals.
We will continue to take all steps necessary to deny Hamas terrorists the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities and terrorize the people of Israel. That includes by imposing sanctions and coordinating with allies and partners to track, freeze, and seize any Hamas-related assets in their jurisdictions.
said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Today, Treasury imposed sanctions on ten key Hamas terrorist group members, operatives, and financial facilitators in Gaza and elsewhere as part of a continuous effort by the U.S. to root out Hamas’s sources of revenue. https://t.co/KZtF6K60id
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) October 18, 2023
The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children. The U.S. Treasury has a long history of effectively disrupting terror finance and we will not hesitate to use our tools against Hamas. We will continue to take all steps necessary to deny Hamas terrorists the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities and terrorize the people of Israel. That includes by imposing sanctions and coordinating with allies and partners to track, freeze, and seize any Hamas-related assets in their jurisdictions.
said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen
In addition to Buy Cash and its creator, six persons involved in Hamas’s financial portfolio and two high-ranking Hamas leaders were sanctioned by OFAC. This month, Hamas carried out fatal strikes on Israeli citizens, prompting a widespread campaign to help Israel in its battle with Hamas, which includes the imposition of sanctions.
Israeli authorities worked with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance in the days after the bombings to freeze accounts associated with Hamas. This week, the biggest stablecoin issuer, Tether, stated that it will be freezing crypto addresses associated with terrorism in both Ukraine and Israel.
