US offers $10m reward for information on Hamas financiers

The US government, through the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program, has offered $10 million for information that could lead to the arrest of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, otherwise known as Hamas.

In a press statement issued by the Department of State on Friday, it said that it was offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Hamas.

The identified financiers are Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Khair, Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah, and Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah.

Profile of Abdelbasit Hamza Elhassan Mohamed Khair, “Hamza,” and others

Hamza is a Sudan-based Hamas financier who has managed numerous companies in Hamas’s investment portfolio and was previously involved in the transfer of almost $20 million to Hamas, including funds sent directly to senior Hamas financial officer and U.S.-designated Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) Mahir Jawad Yunis Salah.

The network used by Hamza to launder money and generate revenue for Hamas includes Sudan-based Al Rowad Real Estate Development, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated as an SDGT in May 2022. Hamza also has longstanding financing ties to al-Qa’ida and Usama bin Laden-linked companies in Sudan.

“Amer Kamal Sharif Alshawa, Ahmed Sadu Jahleb, and Walid Mohammed Mustafa Jadallah are Hamas operatives and are part of Hamas’s investment network in Türkiye,” the department said.

“Türkiye-based Alshawa is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Trend GYO and has served as a board member on several Hamas investment portfolio companies.

“Türkiye-based Jahleb serves as the Hamas investment portfolio secretary and coordinates various activities for Hamas-controlled companies and Hamas officials.

“Türkiye-based Jadallah serves on the boards of several investment portfolio companies.

“Muhammad Ahmad ‘Abd Al-Dayim Nasrallah is a longtime Hamas operative with close ties to Iranian entities. He has been involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars to Hamas, including to Hamas’s military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassim Brigades.

“On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated all five individuals as SDGTs under Executive Order 13224, as amended, which targets terrorist groups and their supporters.”

Hamas was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US in 1997.

The group on Tuesday had its key leader Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri, popularly known as Abu Muhammad, and some of its other leaders killed in an Israeli air attack in Beirut, Lebanon.