The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood official and three other people and three entities that it said aided Hamas, the Gaza-based terror group and Muslim Brotherhood offshoot.
“The Trump administration will relentlessly pursue terrorists and those who finance them,” stated Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary, on Thursday. “Whether operating under the guise of charities, businesses or underground financial networks, those who enable Hamas will be exposed, sanctioned and held accountable.”
Those sanctioned include Mahmoud al-Abyari, a senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader based in the United Kingdom. His branch was sanctioned as a specially designated global terrorist in January.
The federal government says that al-Abyari supported fundraising for U.S.-sanctioned institutions tied to Hamas and helped provide financial assistance to the terror group.
A pair of “sham charities” were also sanctioned, including the Indonesia-based Tujah Bulah Global and the Gaza-based Madad Palestine Charitable Society.
The Treasury Department said that Hamas created both for fundraising and revenue generating purposes.
“Today’s action further exposes 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,” the federal government said.
Turkey-based money exchanger El-Kahira for General Trading was also sanctioned, as were its owner and two shareholders, for transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hamas.
Thursday’s designations are the third in a series of Muslim Brotherhood sanctions packages that the U.S. Treasury Department announced this year.
In January, the United States designated the Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese chapters of the Brotherhood as specially designated global terrorists, citing their support for the Hamas terrorist organization.
The State Department also designated the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terror organization and sanctioned its secretary-general, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, as a specially designated global terrorist.
The Treasury Department also designated the Egyptian and Jordanian Brotherhood chapters as specially designated global terror entities.
U.S. President Donald Trump directed the State and Treasury Departments last year to review Muslim Brotherhood branches worldwide for possible sanctions.
The broader Brotherhood network maintains political and organizational hubs in Qatar and Turkey, both U.S. partners in the region, among other countries. No Brotherhood-linked entities in those countries have been sanctioned.
