Treasury Sanctions Muslim Brotherhood Official and Hamas Front Groups in Terror-Financing Crackdown

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood official, three associates, and three organizations on Thursday for providing material support to Hamas, according to OFAC's own statement.

Two of the three entities are what OFAC called "sham charities tied to the Muslim Brotherhood that funneled substantial funding to Hamas's military wing," the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades. The designations happened, OFAC said, even as Hamas "continues to obstruct a peaceful resolution in Gaza."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn't mince words. "The Trump administration will relentlessly pursue terrorists and those who finance them," Bessent said. "Whether operating under the guise of charities, businesses, or underground financial networks, those who enable Hamas will be exposed, sanctioned, and held accountable."

Who Got Named

Mahmoud al-Abyari, secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood General Secretariat and based in the UK, tops the list. OFAC says he has a "long history of senior leadership roles within the Muslim Brotherhood" and helped raise money for Filistin Vakfi and Hayat Yolu, two groups already under US sanctions for Hamas ties.

Two of the newly sanctioned organizations are straightforward fronts, according to Treasury. Tujah Bulah Global, an Indonesia-based outfit operating under the alias Seven Spikes Global, was "created by Hamas to fundraise and provide revenue" for its military wing, OFAC said. The Gaza-based Madad Palestine Charitable Society allegedly did the same, collecting donations under the guise of civilian aid while Hamas diverted the cash for military purposes, per Treasury and reporting from The National.

Then there's El-Kahira for General Trading, a Turkey-based company that transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas, OFAC said. Its owner, Khuldun Khamis Zakaria Alden, and two shareholders, Zaid Issam Ahmed al-Jebouri and Abdullah Issam Ahmad al-Jebouri, were all sanctioned alongside the company.

The Organized Crime Angle

The El-Kahira designation goes beyond Hamas financing. OFAC says the company provided underground banking services, handling both cash and cryptocurrency, to Sweden-based organized crime groups including the Foxtrot Network. Zaid and Abdullah al-Jebouri reportedly ran similar underground banking operations for another criminal group.

These financial networks aren't purely ideological operations. They're plumbing that moves money for whoever pays, whether that's a terrorist group or a European street gang. Treasury described the overall scheme as a "multi-layered typology in which Muslim Brotherhood affiliates and Hamas-directed front organizations operate transnational fundraising channels, using charitable facades and underground banking networks to move and disguise funds across jurisdictions."

Part of a Pattern, Not a One-Off

Thursday's action is the third round of Hamas-financing sanctions from Treasury so far this year, based on the timeline laid out by both Daily Wire and The National.

In January, OFAC exposed six Gaza-based front groups posing as medical clinics, including the Waed Society and Al-Nur Society, that Treasury said were directly integrated into Hamas's security apparatus. That same month also saw sanctions on the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad and UK organizer Zaher Khaled Hassan Birawi over Gaza-bound flotillas Treasury linked to terror leadership.

In March, Treasury targeted four more bogus non-profits, including Türkiye-based Ghazi Destek Dernegi and Indonesia's KNRP, citing captured Hamas documents that allegedly showed cash, supplies, and construction materials flowing to armed militants in Gaza.

The broader legal groundwork was laid in January, when the US formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood's branches in Egypt and Jordan as terrorist organizations, with the Lebanese branch designated the same way, according to The National. That designation has drawn pushback abroad. The National noted that France's Interior Minister called listing the Muslim Brotherhood as a terror group "impossible to implement," reflecting how European governments view the organization very differently than Washington does. The Brotherhood operates as a legal political and social movement in much of Europe and the Middle East, which is precisely why critics of a blanket terrorist designation worry it could sweep in mainstream religious and political activity alongside genuine terror financiers. Treasury's Thursday action, however, is narrower: it names specific individuals and entities OFAC says it can tie directly to Hamas's military wing, not the Brotherhood as a whole.

What Happens Now

The sanctions freeze any US assets belonging to the designated individuals and entities and bar Americans from doing business with them. Whether foreign banks and governments, particularly in Turkey and Indonesia where several of the named entities operate, take any enforcement action of their own remains an open question. Neither Ankara nor Jakarta has issued a public response to Thursday's designations. No criminal charges have been announced against any of the individuals named.