One month after an investigation by Shomrim, in collaboration with CNN and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has revealed that Hamas’ chief financier, a Sudanese national, Abdelbasit Hamza, maintained a series of business interests across Europe, the European Union has imposed dedicated sanctions against him and five other individuals suspected of having ties with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This is the first time that the European Union has taken such measures against people linked to these two terrorist organizations.

The Shomrim investigation, which was published in conjunction with the ICIJ and CNN, revealed that Hamza is the owner of a Spanish real estate company Zawaya Development and Investment Sociedad Limitada, as well as being a partner in a Cyprus-bases company the Matz Holdings Group, through which his partnership with the Egypt government came to light. Hamza’s business operated, inter alia, through a bank in Cyprus, which is a member of the European Union.

The documents exposed by Shomrim, which were based on information gleaned from the Cyprus Confidential leak, revealed that Hamza – who was subjected to sanctions by the United States in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 attacks – frequently altered his stake in Matz over the years. At one stage, he owned 65 percent of the company’s shares. The remaining shares were owned by two partners: an Egyptian businessman, Hesham al-Hazek, who himself has been embroiled in various corruption scandals, and a Swiss national by the name of Jekob Felix Bliggenstorfer, who splits his time between Switzerland and Palma on the Spanish island of Majorca. Bliggenstorfer also served as a director of Matz alongside Hamza.

According to internal documents from Matz, the company Matz Holdings holds lucrative concessions to exploit two gold mines in Egypt: the Hamash mine, close to the Red Sea, and the Dungash mine in the southeast of the country. At the Hamash mine, Matz owns mining rights along with the state-owned Egyptian Company for Mineral Resources. In essence, this means that Hamza and the Egyptians are business partners.

In response to the investigation, Hamza told Shomrim that he has no connection with Hamas.

A $10 Million Reward

In early January, some two weeks after the publication of the investigation, the U.S. State Department announced that the administration is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about Hamza or any of the other Hamas-linked individuals subjected to sanctions.

Now, the European Union has also imposed “a dedicated framework of restrictive measures” against Hamza. According to the European announcement, assets belonging to Hamza and the other sanctioned individuals are to be frozen. In addition, “the provision of funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to them or for their benefit is prohibited.” In addition, a travel ban has been issued, preventing Hamza from visiting any country in the European Union.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign minister, said that the decision to impose sanctions on specific individuals shows that the European Union is “ready to take decisive steps to react to the brutality shown by terrorists on October 7.”