Treasury expands sanctions against Gaza-based crypto exchanges
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has implemented a fifth set of sanctions on Hamas since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. In a press release on Jan. 22, the U.S. Treasury Department said it imposed additional sanctions on Hamas in response to the terrorist attack on Israel that occurred in October 2023. The latest sanctions target networks of Hamas-affiliated exchange s in Gaza, their owners, associates, and financial facilitators involved in funds transfers, including crypto transfers, from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. According to the Treasury, Hamas utilized various methods, including crypto, to transfer funds from Gaza to the West Bank. Herzallah Exchange and General Trading Company LLC (known as Herzallah Exchange), owned by Muhammad Fallah Kamil Hirzallah, Na’im Kamil Raghib Hirzallah, and Salah Kamil Raghib Hirzallah, have been identified as facilitati...