FinCEN Alert to Financial Institutions to Counter Financing to Hamas and its Terrorist Activities

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert today to assist financial institutions in identifying funding streams for the terrorist organization Hamas in response to Hamas’s horrific terrorist attack on the people of Israel, which left more than 1,000 innocent civilians, including citizens of the United States and dozens of other countries, wounded, killed, or taken hostage. FinCEN is urging financial institutions to be vigilant in identifying suspicious activity relating to financing Hamas and reporting it to FinCEN. The alert contains red flags that FinCEN has identified to help detect, prevent, and report potential suspicious activity related to Hamas’ terrorist financing activity. As part of a whole-of-government response, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is taking all steps necessary, including issuing this Alert and engaging with foreign counterparts, to deny Hamas the ability to raise and use funds worldwide for its terrorist activities.