Saudi high rollers have been funding jihad for decades. U.S. officials usually only talk about it in generalities. But the Treasury Department has recently announced sanctions against several Saudis including Abu-Ubaydah al-Agha, a high-ranking money man for the terrorist group Hamas, and Mahir Salah, who launders money for Hamas through front companies in Saudi Arabia.
From Agence France-Presse on Sept. 11 (h/t El Grillo):
US sanctions aim at Saudi-Hamas finance link
New US Treasury sanctions Thursday took aim at financial links between Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which the US labels a terrorist group.
The Treasury named Hamas political bureau member Saleh Aruri; Saudi-based Hamas financier Mahir Salah; Abu-Ubaydah Khayri Hafiz Al-Agha, a Saudi citizen and “senior Hamas financial officer”; and al-Agha’s company Asyaf International Holding Group for sanctions.
It said Aruri has since 2013 “overseen the distribution of Hamas finances” and works closely with Salah.
Salah, a dual British and Jordanian citizen, has led the Hamas Finance Committee in Saudi Arabia, which the Treasury called “the largest center of Hamas’s financial activity.”
“As of late 2014, Salah managed several front companies in Saudi Arabia that conducted money laundering activities for Hamas,” it added.
Al-Agha and his company, meanwhile, are “involved in investment, funding, and money transfers for Hamas in Saudi Arabia”…
U.S. sanctions Al Qaeda officials sheltered by Iran
July 25, 2016The U.S. has levied sanctions against three Al Qaeda leaders residing in Iran. The sanctions mean that you can’t give money or business with these guys. They’ll be on sanctions list databases and financial institutions will be checking transactions against those databases to help enforce the sanctions. Wouldn’t it be nice if Iran helped us enforce these sanctions, since we freed up billions of dollars for Iran in the nuclear deal?
From The Long War Journal:
Read about each of the three men on The Long War Journal here.
Posted in News commentary | Tagged Al Qaeda, Iran, Treasury Department | 1 Comment »