Gaza-based crypto exchanges face broader sanctions from Treasury Department
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a division of the U.S. Treasury Department, has announced further sanctions on Hamas following the terrorist attack on Israel in October 2023. The new sanctions specifically target Hamas-affiliated exchanges in Gaza, as well as their owners, associates, and financial facilitators. These individuals and entities have been involved in transferring funds, including cryptocurrencies, from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Among the exchanges identified are Herzallah Exchange and General Trading Company LLC, owned by Muhammad Fallah Kamil Hirzallah, Na’im Kamil Raghib Hirzallah, and Salah Kamil Raghib Hirzallah, as well as Samir Herzallah and Brothers For Money Exchange and Remittances (known as Samir Exchange). The report does not specify which cryptocurrencies were used in these transactions. The U.S. authorities have collaborated with the U.K. and Australia in imposing sanctions on key Hamas officials and facilitators. Additionally, the cyber unit of Israel Police’s Lahav 433 has taken action against Hamas’s crypto accounts, with Israel ordering Binance to locate and shut down these accounts. Lahav 433 has also requested the U.K. police to block a Hamas-related account in Barclays Bank.
