Italian Authorities Crack Down on Alleged Hamas Financing Network Linked to Sham Charities
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Khalid Al Mansoor
- . December 29, 2025
- . Update: December 29, 2025 8:59 pm
On December 27, 2025, the Italian government made a big counter-terrorism break with the arrest of Mohammed Hannoun and eight other suspects on allegations of transferring millions of euros to the Hamas group via consumer-sham humanitarian charities. Financial police and counter-terrorism units were at the helm of the operation that saw the confiscation of assets valued at about 8 million. According to the claims of investigators, the money collected with the purpose of assisting Palestinians was redirected into the work of the Hamas systematically. The case has also raised controversy in Europe over the issue of charity control, the financing of extremists, and the overall effects of the matter on the future security in the regions and the continent.
Arrests and Seizures: How the Alleged Scheme Worked
In the official comments, the raids were conducted as a coordinated attack on individuals and organizations that were believed to run an advanced financial channel disguised as humanitarian aid. Authorities indicate that money donated towards medical and social activities has been diverted using front organizations to Hamas. The bank accounts, properties, and digital financial instruments that were seized account to 8 million euros are suspected to have been connected to the network. The prosecutors highlighted that the investigation was based on the years of monetary tracking, overseas intelligence collaboration, court-approved monitoring.
Mohammed Hannoun’s Alleged Role and Sanctions History
Investigators described Mohammed Hannoun as one of the key players in the so-called financing network in Italy. He has already been placed under sanctions by the United States on allegations of being an operative of Hamas who transferred money through charitable organizations. According to the Italian officials, the activities of Hannoun are part of a larger trend worldwide with the extremist groups taking advantage of the open civil society institutions and donor goodwill to hide the illegal transfer of money.
Links to the Muslim Brotherhood and UCOII
One area of the exploration is that Hannoun was reported to have affiliations with groups connected to the Muslim brotherhood specifically theUnion of Islamic Communities in Italy (UCOII). Governments claim that a hybrid leadership structure in which there was overlap of leadership and platform sharing and fundraising platforms provided an indirectly beneficial ecosystem to Hamas operations. Although these groups reject misconduct, investigative officials believe that these networks can be used to offer ideological protection and logistics.
Implications for European Security and Policy
According to security analysts, the case highlights the weakness of the EU in its systems of managing charities. The uncovering of Palestinian-branded charities supposedly sending millions of dollars to Hamas has brought about new demands to tighten transparency regulations, add cross-border finances supervision, and bring about clear responsibility to nonprofit making organizations. Whether the European Union should increase the regulation to curb any abuse but still not compromise the genuine humanitarian efforts is a question that is currently being debated by policymakers.
