Turkish national charged by US for funding Hamas using sham humanitarian charity

ByGOLDIE KATZAUGUST 1, 2026 06:29Updated: AUGUST 1, 2026 06:30Turkish national Mohammad Yousef Hasna was charged with conspiring to provide material support for Hamas under the guise of humanitarian fundraising and other terrorism financing offenses by the US Department of Justice on Friday.Hasna, also known as “Orhan Korkmaz” and “Abu al-Baraa,” was arrested in the UK, where he allegedly acted as the global director of a registered charity, and ordered detained until he is extradited to face trial in the US.According to the DOJ’s complaint against Hasna, he provided financing and commodities to Hamas through what was identified as a Sham Charity and worked closely with Hamas terrorists, including senior Hamas terrorist Ghazi Hamad. Since at least 2023, Hasna coordinated with Hamad in a number of ways, including arranging deliveries of cash to Hamad, procuring supplies for transport into the Gaza Strip, transporting materials into Gaza from Egypt, and distributing the supplies to warehouses controlled by the Sham Charity and Hamas.Hasna and Hamas also worked together to conceal where the materials were being delivered and stored, taking pictures and videos of the supplies for the Sham Charity that omitted warehouse signage indicating their location and control.Hamas terrorists as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the ICRC search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages -an Israeli soldier and a Thai national- from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip on December 1, 2025; Illustrative. (credit: Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images)FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Jarod Brown stated that in Hasna’s coordination with Hamas, he “knew the resources were going to that group rather than to needy non-combatants."“The accused allegedly used a purported humanitarian aid organization to raise funds and provide financing and supplies to Hamas, a ruthless international terrorist organization,” Brown stated.Hasna accused of funneling millions to HamasAccording to the US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, following Hamas’s October 7 massacre against Israel, Hasna’s Sham Charity disclosed to UK authorities that its gross income nearly doubled.In 2023, the Sham Charity disclosed a gross income of $41.8 million. In 2024, that figure rose to around $81.56 million.In the 2025 fiscal year, the Sham Charity reported spending approximately $91 million on allegedly charitable activities.“The money that flows from sham charities like the one described in the complaint fuels Hamas’s terrorist activities, including the atrocities the group committed on October 7,” said US National Security Assistant Attorney-General John Eisenberg. “Hamas cannot function without injections of money through its illicit financial networks."Hasna faces up to 20 years in prison if convictedHasna is accused of funneling millions of dollars in aid to Hamas through his Sham Charity and was 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, according to the DOJ.The investigation that led to Hasna’s arrest was aided by UK law enforcement and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).Follow us on Google