Nine people have been arrested in Genoa, in the northwest of Italy, and three charitable associations have been intervened, accused of having financed the Islamist group Hamas with more than 7 million euros after the attacks of October 7, the Financial Guard reported this Saturday.
The order was issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Genoa, at the request of the city’s Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate, following the analysis of reports of suspicious financial transactions and in collaboration with the authorities of the Netherlands and other EU countries.
The suspects are accused, in the current preliminary investigation phase, of being part of and having financed Hamas and its various terrorist activities through the Charitable Association for Solidarity with the Palestinian People, founded in Genoa in 1994; the Volunteer Organization for Palestine, founded in 2003, and La Cupola d’Oro, inaugurated in Milan that same year.
The charges are of “conspiracy to commit terrorism, including international terrorism, and subversion of the democratic order.”
They are believed to have contributed significantly to the organisation’s criminal activities totaling approximately €7 million. These transactions involved triangulation through bank transfers or other means through associations based abroad and in favor of associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian Territories or Israel.
Investigators claim that the financing began on October 18, 2001, but it was after the attacks of October 7, 2023 that large sums of money were allocated, equivalent to 7,288,248.15 euros, “diverting these funds from the declared purposes, which were the real needs of the civilian population of Gaza.”
Among those detained is Mohammad Hannoun, head of the international branch of Hamas and leader of the Italian cell, as well as the legal representative or de facto administrator of these associations, which collected money supposedly intended for humanitarian purposes, although in reality more than 70 percent of the funds were diverted to directly finance Hamas or its affiliated entities.
Also detained were Rawwa Adel Ibrahim Salameh, representative for northeastern Italy; Abu Deiah Khalil, founder and legal representative of the La Cupola d’Oro Charitable Association, and Abdu Saleh Mohammed Ismail, resident in Turkey, accused of receiving and transferring at least 462,700 euros to Hamas, including in cash, among others.
Part of the funds was allegedly used to support the families of suicide bombers or people arrested for crimes related to terrorism, Italian media add.
“Despite the necessary presumption of innocence that must always be recognized at this stage, behavior and activities have been revealed that, behind the façade of initiatives for the benefit of the Palestinian population, hid support and participation in organizations with real terrorist purposes of an Islamist nature. This is a danger to which our government pays the utmost attention,” said Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.