9 arrested, €8M seized in Hamas funding raid in Italy
Italian authorities have arrested nine individuals suspected of financing the Palestinian movement. The suspects are accused of sending money to support terrorist attacks.
The Italian authorities have carried out a major operation coordinated by the Anti-Mafia District Directorate of Genoa against an alleged terrorist cell linked to Hamas, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The State Police and the Guardia di Finanza applied precautionary measures against nine suspects, all of whom were to be remanded in custody, and ordered the seizure of assets worth more than eight million euros.
The investigation, which started from reports of suspicious financial transactions, unveiled a complex system of international currency triangulations.
The investigators accuse the suspects of being part of and actively financing the Hamas organisation. According to the investigation, the funds collected were not primarily intended for humanitarian purposes, but were used to support the movement's criminal activities, including attacks against civilians. An estimated seven million euros were sent to Gaza and the Palestinian Territories to reinforce the group's armed strategy.
At the centre of the scheme are several associations, including the Beneficial Association of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (ABSPP), based in Genoa. Mohammad Hannoun, indicated as the top figure of the Italian cell, is said to have managed the fund-raising by diverting over 71 per cent of the donations to articulations directly controlled by the military wing of Hamas. In order to evade international banking controls, the suspects allegedly constituted new acronyms, such as the association 'The Golden Dome'.
Similar news
