A U.K. arrest unsealed a three-count complaint accusing Mohammad Yousef Hasna, aka “Orhan Korkmaz” and “Abu al-Baraa,” of using a supposed global charity to funnel cash and supplies to Hamas, coordinating closely with senior Hamas leaders and hiding shipments and storage to keep the operation moving.
The unsealed complaint charges Mohammad Yousef Hasna, 45, of Istanbul, with conspiring to provide material support to Hamas and related terrorism-financing offenses. Prosecutors say this was not casual charity work but an organized effort to move money and goods into Gaza under the direction of Hamas leadership. The complaint alleges Hasna was the global director of a charity registered in the United Kingdom that served as the vehicle for these transfers. He was arrested in the United Kingdom earlier this week and faces extradition and prosecution procedures.
Federal authorities describe a pattern of coordination between Hasna and senior Hamas officials to direct funds and supplies into Hamas hands rather than to neutral humanitarian recipients. The complaint names Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s Politburo and an official tied to the Ministry for Social Development in Gaza, as a central contact. According to the allegations, the charity’s shipments and expenditures were routed or diverted at Hamad’s direction. Investigators say that deliveries, storage, and distributions were all controlled to match lists provided by Hamas leadership.
Officials laid out how the operation worked in detail: arranging cash deliveries, procuring goods for import, trucking supplies into Gaza from Egypt, and routing items to warehouses controlled by the charity or the Gaza ministry. The complaint alleges that photos and videos were taken to hide identifying signage, that supplies were initially routed to official addresses and then moved to alternate facilities, and that records misrepresented final destinations. These steps were meant to conceal that resources were funneled to Hamas fighters and operatives, not to impartial relief distribution.
Investigators also point to dramatic financial shifts following the October 7 attacks in 2023, with the charity reporting a jump in gross income from roughly $41.8 million in one year to about $81.56 million the next. The organization reportedly claimed nearly $91 million in charitable spending in the fiscal year ending July 31, 2025. Authorities view those figures as evidence of either massive misrepresentation or deliberate laundering of funds to support a terrorist organization rather than neutral aid efforts.
“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 Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “Hamas cannot function without injections of money through its illicit financial networks. The National Security Division will continue to work tirelessly to disrupt Hamas’s operations, including through the prosecutions such as this.”
U.S. law enforcement framed the case as part of a broader effort to dismantle global financing networks that enable violence and kidnapping. “Mohammad Hasna is alleged to have abused his position as the global director of a purported humanitarian organization to raise money and provide funds and supplies to Hamas, a brutal terrorist organization responsible for the murders of dozens of Americans and over a thousand other innocent victims, including as part of the heinous atrocities of October 7,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York. “Hasna worked closely with Hamas’s senior leadership to deliver supplies, food, funding, and other materials to terrorists under the guise of humanitarian aid. Our arrest of Mohammad Hasna demonstrates our commitment to dismantling Hamas’s illicit global financing networks and the sham charities that support terrorist organizations and their violent aims using the lie of philanthropy.”
“The accused allegedly used a purported humanitarian aid organization to raise funds and provide financing and supplies to Hamas, a ruthless international terrorist organization,” said Assistant Director Jarod Brown of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “According to the criminal complaint, the defendant coordinated his actions closely with a senior leader of Hamas and knew the resources were going to that group rather than to needy non-combatants. The FBI is committed to cutting off funding and other assistance to terrorist organizations and will continue to work closely with our U.S. government and international partners to present a united front against global terrorism.”
The complaint details repeated, direct communications between Hasna and senior Hamas figures about the timing and recipients of deliveries. Alleged tactics included mislabeling shipments, diverting goods after initial official receipts, and keeping warehouses free of identifying marks so oversight would be difficult. Authorities say those methods allowed Hamas to receive a steady flow of resources while preserving a veneer of lawful humanitarian work.
Hasna faces three federal charges: conspiring to provide material support to Hamas, conspiring to finance terrorism, and financing terrorism, each carrying a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. Sentencing, if there is a conviction, will be determined by a federal judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutory factors. The case will proceed through the Southern District of New York’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.
U.S. investigators acknowledge substantial international cooperation in the probe, citing help from U.K. law enforcement and the Israeli Security Agency. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and other U.S. offices also provided assistance, underscoring the cross-border nature of the alleged scheme. Authorities emphasized they will continue to work with international partners to identify and dismantle networks that channel charitable cover into terrorist support.
An indictment is an accusation and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. The coming legal process will test the allegations in open proceedings, where prosecutors will present evidence and defense counsel will have the opportunity to respond. Meanwhile, investigators say tracking and disrupting similar financing channels remains a top counterterrorism priority.
