International Charity Director Charged With Financing Hamas

A senior official at an international charity was arrested in the United Kingdom on charges that he used the organization to provide money and supplies to Hamas, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.

Mohammad Yousef Hasna, 45, of Istanbul, Turkey, is charged with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to finance terrorism and financing terrorism. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Hasna, also known as “Orhan Korkmaz” and “Abu al-Baraa,” served as global director of a purported humanitarian organization registered in the United Kingdom, according to a three-count complaint unsealed in federal court.

Federal prosecutors did not identify the organization by name, referring to it in the complaint as the “Sham Charity.”

The Justice Department alleges Hasna coordinated extensively with Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’ senior governing body and an official in Gaza’s Hamas-controlled Ministry of Social Development.

Beginning by at least 2023, Hasna allegedly arranged cash deliveries, procured supplies and coordinated truck shipments into Gaza from Egypt and other locations. Prosecutors said supplies were delivered to warehouses and distributed to recipients selected by Hamad.

Hasna and Hamad allegedly concealed where some shipments were stored or delivered. The complaint claims they misrepresented the destinations of supplies and produced photographs and videos that omitted signs identifying who controlled the warehouses.

Prosecutors allege Hasna knew the resources were going to Hamas rather than civilians in need.

Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the charity reported that its annual gross income nearly doubled from approximately $41.8 million in fiscal year 2023 to about $81.6 million in fiscal year 2024, according to the Justice Department. The organization reported spending approximately $91 million on charitable activities during the fiscal year ending July 31, 2025.

Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said organizations posing as charities can provide funding that sustains Hamas’ operations.

“Hamas cannot function without injections of money through its illicit financial networks,” Eisenberg said.

The United States has designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997. The group’s Oct. 7 attack killed more than 1,000 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken, according to the complaint.

The case is being prosecuted by the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit with assistance from the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section. U.K. authorities and the Israeli Security Agency assisted with the investigation.

The complaint contains allegations that have not been proven in court. Hasna is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.