American prosecutors and sanctions officials have moved together against a fundraising network they say collected millions of dollars for Hamas through charitable appeals and cryptocurrency transfers. Three people were arrested in the United States and three more in France as indictments and complaints were unsealed on Friday.
The central figure is Saleem Alzaq, a Gaza resident whom the Justice Department describes as a member of Hamas’s military wing. Prosecutors allege that he raised money through campaigns presented to donors as humanitarian relief, then directed funds to Hamas. The government says the network collected at least $1.7 million from 2020 onward; New York investigators place the wider flow above $2 million.
Omar Adhami and Abdel Adhami were arrested in Louisiana, while Raed Yousef was arrested in Florida. The charges range across material support, money laundering, wire fraud and sanctions law. Alzaq is charged in New York but has not been reported in American custody. All charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty.
French security officers separately arrested Faouzi Barika, Amel Oualid and Nordine Barika. On the same day, the Treasury Department imposed blocking sanctions on Alzaq, Faouzi Barika, Oualid and two France-based associations, Baraka and Ensemble C Mieux. Treasury says the charities functioned as fundraising fronts and that hundreds of thousands of dollars moved through cryptocurrency.
The criminal cases and the sanctions order are different legal instruments. Prosecutors must establish the charged offences in court. The sanctions take immediate administrative effect: property subject to US jurisdiction is blocked, US persons generally may not transact with designated parties, and foreign financial institutions can face secondary-sanctions risk for certain dealings.
Taken together, the actions show how counterterrorism cases now move across three tracks at once—criminal prosecution, financial isolation and international police cooperation. They also sharpen the distinction between legitimate aid to civilians in Gaza and fundraising that governments allege is diverted to an armed organisation.
Justice Department case record · Treasury sanctions notice · OFAC designation record
