US imposes sanctions on financial networks linked to Muslim Brotherhood

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday new sanctions targeting a prominent official in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, along with three individuals and three entities, which it said had provided financial and logistical support to Hamas through international networks for raising and transferring funds.

The sanctions released on Thursday included Mahmoud Al-Ebiary, whom the U.S. Treasury Department described as a prominent leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, residing in the United Kingdom, and holding the position of Secretary-General of the group’s General Secretariat.

The Department said that Al-Ebiary participated in fundraising efforts on behalf of institutions previously sanctioned by Washington over alleged ties to Hamas, and that he also worked with parties affiliated with the Brotherhood to provide financial support to the movement.

The Department stated, in a statement, that the sanctions were issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and targeted what it described as multi-tiered financial networks that used charitable associations, commercial companies, and informal banking networks to transfer funds to Hamas’s military wing.
Washington also imposed sanctions on two institutions it said had been used as fronts for collecting funds on behalf of Hamas’s military wing.

The Treasury Department says that funds collected under the cover of humanitarian aid for civilians were, according to its allegations, diverted to Hamas’s military activities.

Under the decision, all assets and property belonging to the sanctioned individuals and entities that fall under U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen, and U.S. citizens and companies will be prohibited from conducting any transactions with them.
The Treasury Department added that foreign financial institutions facilitating significant transactions on behalf of the listed individuals or entities could in turn face secondary sanctions, including restrictions on their dealings with the U.S. financial system.

It noted that these measures were taken in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as part of efforts targeting the financial infrastructure that Washington says supports Hamas.