US and UK Jointly Sanction Hamas-Linked Crypto Addresses in Gaza

US and UK Sanction Online Media Outlet for Aiding Hamas in Crypto Fundraising

Both the US and the UK foreign sanctions bodies have targeted online media outlet Gaza Now for aiding Hamas fundraise $21,000 in crypto. Gaza Now has been promoting crypto donation campaigns and ramped-up these efforts particularly after the October 7 attack in Israel.

Sanctions Issued by US and UK Authorities

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) and the U.K.’s Office of Foreign Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) have issued sanctions against Mustafa Ayash, the founder of Gaza Now, as well as others and entities associated with the fundraising efforts.

Details of Sanctions

The media entity provided donation options for crypto and fiat and also had references to Aakhirah Limited, which was also sanctioned by OFAC parallelly with Gaza Now. The sanction list also applies to Aakhirah’s director Aozma Sultana.

Statements from US Treasury

“Treasury remains committed to degrading Hamas’ ability to finance its terrorist activities, including through online fundraising campaigns that seek to funnel money directly to the group,” US Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Impact of Crypto Contributions

Though Gaza Now received huge in donations, crypto contributions amounted to only $21,000 in the weeks after October 7, per blockchain analytics company Elliptic.

UK Treasury’s Actions

The UK Treasury announced a full asset freeze against two suspects who reportedly provided financial support to Gaza Now. “All funds and economic resources in the UK belonging to or controlled by Sultana and Ayash have been frozen.”

Gaza Now’s Financial Inflows

Per Chainalysis report, the vast majority of Gaza Now’s total inflows received over $4.4 million in cryptocurrency. These funds have come primarily from mainstream exchanges.

On the other hand, Gaza Now’s personal wallets have received just above $40,000 in inflows across a variety of cryptos.

Further, these terrorist financing entities prefer using Tether (USDT) on the TRON blockchain, particularly in 2023. According to TRM labs, this saw a 125% increase in TRON addresses linked to terrorist financing.