The US Department of the Treasury has rolled out punitive financial measures aimed at a top UK-based figure in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, along with three other individuals and three organizations accused of providing support to the Hamas terrorist organization.
“The Trump administration will relentlessly pursue terrorists and those who finance them," stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 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."
Among those designated is Mahmoud al-Abyari, a senior UK-resident leader within the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. His specific faction was previously added to the US global terrorist list in January. Authorities assert that al-Abyari facilitated fundraising drives for sanctioned organizations linked to Hamas and helped coordinate monetary support for the Gaza-based terrorist group.
The sanctions package also targets two pseudo-humanitarian organizations: Indonesia’s Tujah Bulah Global and the Gaza-headquartered Madad Palestine Charitable Society. Federal investigators determined that both organizations were established directly by Hamas to act as revenue-generating vehicles.
“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.
Additionally, sanctions were levied against El-Kahira for General Trading, a Turkey-based money transfer business, along with its proprietor and two major investors, for moving hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hamas.
Thursday's action represents the third wave of Treasury penalties enacted this year focusing on Muslim Brotherhood networks.
In January, the United States designated the Egyptian, Jordanian and Lebanese branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as specially designated global terrorists, citing their support for the Hamas terrorist organization.
Around the same time, the State Department categorized the Lebanese chapter as a foreign terrorist organization while sanctioning its secretary-general, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, alongside Treasury’s terrorist designations of the Egyptian and Jordanian arms.
Previously, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order beginning the official process to designate certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).