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Aozma Sultana and Mustafa Ayash sanctioned using domestic counter-terrorism powers.

• The pair are suspected of providing financial support for Gaza Now, a terrorism-promoting media network.
• Both individuals and the companies they control are subject to a full asset freeze.

The UK Government has announced a full asset freeze against two individuals suspected of providing financial support for Gaza Now – a news agency that promotes the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist groups.

All funds and economic resources in the UK belonging to or controlled by Sultana and Ayash have been frozen. No UK person may make available funds, economic resources and financial services to them or for their benefit, or to any of the companies or organisations they own or control - either over the course of doing business with them or otherwise.

This action is the second use of the Treasury-led domestic counter terrorism sanctions regime, used to target those who it has reasonable grounds to suspect are involved in terrorist activity. Last year it sanctioned an art dealer who was suspected of abusing the UK’s fine art market to run an international terrorist financing operation for Hizballah.

UK Treasury Minister Baroness Vere yesterday said:

The UK and its partners are committed to cutting off funding sources to Hamas, PIJ and any others supporting terrorist activity that prevents sustainable peace in the Middle East.

We will also never hesitate to take action against those who exploit the integrity of Britain’s financial system, its broader economy and threaten our national security.

Yesterday’s action is part of a coordinated international effort with partners in the UK and the United States to deploy financial sanctions to prevent terrorist financing, shielding the UK’s financial system and ensuring our open economy is not abused.

These latest designations build on three packages imposed on Hamas and its associates with the United States, under the UK’s International Counter-Terrorism sanctions regime:

• On 22 January 2024, five individuals and one entity involved in arranging finance for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were sanctioned
• On 13 December 2023, leaders and financiers of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were sanctioned
• On 14 November 2023, four members of Hamas and two financers were sanctioned

The UK continues to work closely with our partners to identify further opportunities to disrupt Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s financial networks, including cutting off access to funding being used to carry out atrocities. This work is ongoing alongside that to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.

Further information

• From 27 March 2024, Sultana and Ayash and companies and organisations owned or controlled by them are subject to an asset freeze in the UK, the UK Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
• Regulation 5 of the domestic Counter Terrorism sanctions regulations allows HM Treasury to designate people by name for the purposes of freezing assets and preventing the making available of funds, economic resources and financial services to them or for their benefit. This makes it an offence for any UK person or entity to do so over the course of doing business with them or any of the companies or organisations they own or control, or otherwise.
• An asset freeze means that it is generally prohibited to deal with the funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by a designated person. Additionally, the Counter Terrorism sanctions impose prohibitions on the making available of funds, financial services or economic resources, directly or indirectly to a designated person or for their benefit, and actions that directly or indirectly circumvent the prohibitions.
• When an asset freeze is applied, the funds or economic resources are frozen immediately by the person in possession or control of them.
• Imposing an asset freeze does not change the ownership of the frozen funds or economic resources and nor are they transferred to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation or HM Treasury for safekeeping.

Sanctioned individuals:

In addition to Sultana and Ayash as individuals, the designation extends to companies and organisations controlled by them, including Gaza Now, Aakhirah Limited, and Al-Qureshi Executives.

Hamas and PIJ themselves are already sanctioned by the UK, and are subject to an asset freeze and arms embargo.