The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has expanded its sanctions list to include two French charities and three individuals after tracing cryptocurrency transfers routed to Hamas.
Treasury Targets French Fundraising Operations
On Oct. 2, OFAC formally designated Association Baraka, Ensemble C Mieux, Faouzi Barika, Amel Oualid, and Saleem Abdallah Saleem al-Zaq. According to agency filings, France-based fundraisers Barika and Oualid sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency to al-Zaq, described by officials as a Gaza-based deputy battalion commander in Hamas' military wing. Overall, the fundraisers and their associated organizations collected more than $2 million for Hamas between 2020 and 2026, though OFAC noted that digital assets represented a specific subset of that broader sum.
Compliance Mandates for Crypto Exchanges
The sanctions impose immediate blocking requirements on U.S.-regulated cryptocurrency exchanges, custodians, and payment processors handling assets tied to designated parties. The restrictions also extend to any entity owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more designated persons.
Key compliance requirements triggered by the action include:
- Mandatory Asset Freezes: U.S. platforms must block access to funds in their possession without requiring conversion into fiat currency.
- 10-Day Reporting: Identifications of blocked property must be formally reported to OFAC within 10 business days, followed by annual reporting.
- Secondary Sanctions: Foreign financial institutions face potential secondary sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for the designated parties.
These enforcement actions reflect a broader regulatory shift as international authorities scrutinize cross-border digital asset activity, similar to Binance enforcing cross-border transfer questionnaires in Brazil and updated SEC rules impacting treasury clearing and liquidity.
Why It Matters
This enforcement action demonstrates that U.S. authorities are increasingly proficient at tracing digital asset transfers alongside traditional banking channels to target international illicit finance networks. By issuing warnings regarding secondary sanctions, OFAC is effectively pressing foreign exchanges and intermediaries to enforce stricter screening standards on non-U.S. entities. As compliance teams integrate these names, the key test will be whether authorities publish specific wallet addresses, which would trigger extensive retrospective transaction audits across the sector.
