Dutch Father-Daughter Duo Arrested For Financing Hamas

Dutch investigators have arrested a father and daughter for “large-scale financing” of Hamas, in breach of E.U. sanctions, prosecutors said Monday.

The man, 55, and his daughter, 25, from the town of Leidschendam near The Hague, were arrested on June 22, AFP reported.

“During searches of a house in Leidschendam, near The Hague, and a business in Rotterdam, investigators found cash and seized a bank account with a balance of around 750,000 euros ($820,000),” said AFP. 

“In addition to being suspected of sending approximately 5.5 million euros ($6 million) to Hamas, “they are also suspected of participating in a criminal organization whose purpose is to support Hamas financially,” said the public prosecution service 

That organization had replaced an earlier, sanctioned organization that sent funds to Hamas, prosecutors said.

The probe was launched following reports of unusual transactions and newspaper articles about a Hamas fundraising event in Europe, they added.

“The pair, who remain in custody, were allegedly involved in a foundation that replaced an earlier, sanctioned organization which sent funds to Hamas,” said the prosecutors.

“Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, was placed on an E.U. terrorism blacklist after the Sept. 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terror attacks in New York and Washington. It was temporarily removed from the list by a lower E.U. court in 2014, but was reinstated by the bloc’s top court in 2017,” said AFP

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Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Virginia Van Zandt