The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on nine people from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and a Gaza-based cryptocurrency exchange in an effort to stop the flow of revenue to the group.
The department announced Wednesday that the sanction targets senior Hamas officials and other members who manage assets in a secret Hamas investment portfolio, as well as exchanging virtual currency used for money transfers and other purposes.
The department said in the announcement that, in addition to the funds Hamas receives from Iran, the group's global investment portfolio generates a large amount of income through its assets valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
He added that companies from Sudan, Algeria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other countries managed the funds under the guise of legitimate businesses.
He said the designations are part of ongoing U.S. efforts to "eliminate Hamas' sources of income."
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the announcement: "We will continue to take all necessary steps to deny Hamas terrorists the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities and terrorize the people of Israel."
