On January 22, 2024, the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia announced an additional round of coordinated sanctions designations of individuals, entities, and aircraft linked to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (“PIJ”). This coordinated action builds on recent joint US-UK and unilateral US designations. Our prior blog post on the October 18, 2023 US designations is available here.
US Sanctions
On January 22, 2024, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) announced a fifth round of designations targeting Hamas since October 7, 2023. The new designations of 13 individuals, six entities, and two aircraft target networks of Hamas-affiliated financial exchanges in Gaza, their owners, and associates, particularly financial facilitators in funds transfers—including cryptocurrency transfers—from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to Hamas and the PIJ in Gaza.
OFAC designated these sanctions targets as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (“SDGTs”) and added them to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List”). Transactions by US Persons or within the United States that involve SDGTs are generally prohibited, unless authorized by an OFAC general or specific license. Entities 50% or more owned by an SDGT or other SDNs are subject to the same prohibitions. Non-US persons engaging in activities involving an SDGT (even if there is no US nexus) could also potentially face the risk of themselves being designated under “secondary” sanctions, among other risks.
In addition to the existing humanitarian general licenses applicable to SDGTs, OFAC issued General License No. 27 (“GL 27”) and an accompanying FAQ 1159 relating to the wind-down and civil aviation transactions with newly-designated SDGT Fly Baghdad, which are authorized until GL 27’s expiration on March 22, 2024.
UK Sanctions
On January 22, 2024, the UK Government announced its third round of designations targeting Hamas since October 7, 2023. The latest designations target five individuals and one entity connected to Hamas and the PIJ networks, including Hamas and PIJ financiers who have been involved in Hamas’s increased use of crypto-currencies as a funds transfer mechanism. Each successive round of UK designations has increasingly focused on targeting group Hamas and financiers.
These UK sanctions are imposed pursuant to the UK’s Counter-Terrorism (International Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the “CTI Regulations”). Parties designated under the CTI Regulations are subject to an arms embargo, asset freeze, and travel ban, and therefore unable to enter the UK or purchase weapons and military equipment from a UK person. In addition to the designations above, Hamas and the PIJ are already both fully designated under the CTI Regulations, and are also both proscribed organisations under the UK Terrorism Act 2000.
The UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”)’s General Licence INT 2023/3749168 authorizes certain humanitarian activity in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and will expire on May 15, 2024.
Australia Sanctions
On January 22, 2024, Australia announced that it imposed further counter-terrorism financing sanctions on Hamas-linked targets. The new sanctions target 12 persons and three entities linked to Hamas, Hizballah, and the PIJ. The individuals sanctioned include Hamas leaders, financial facilitators, and persons who have provided training to terrorist operatives, while the sanctioned entities have been targeted for facilitating the transfer of funds to Hamas. The new sanctions follow sanctions imposed by Australia in 2023 on Hamas, Hizballah, and the PIJ in their entirety, alongside 17 individuals and seven entities with links to these groups.
