Abdallah Yusuf Faisal Sabri (Sabri), a Kuwait-based Jordanian national, is an accountant who has worked in the Hamas Finance Ministry for several years. Sabri, a Hamas financial official and representative, has been an important figure in the terrorist organization since 2006, and played a role in expanding Hamas’s reach in the region.
Since at least 2018, Sabri has managed Hamas’s operational expenses and oversaw the transfer of large sums of money on behalf of Hamas, including transfers from Iran and Saudi Arabia, which he sent to Hamas members, units, and industries. In 2018, Sabri was appointed chairman of a committee that, together with Hamas’s investment apparatus, would supervise a budget summary report pursuant to a resolution from a recent Hamas leadership meeting. Sabri likely knew details about Hamas’s financial planning and was likely aware of Hamas’s investment projects, sources of income, and financial expenditures.
‘Abdallah Yusuf Faisal Sabri is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being a leader or official of Hamas.
On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (68 FR 34196, June 6, 2003 (“the Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism” (66 FR 49079, September 25, 2001). OFAC has amended the Regulations on several occasions.
On September 9, 2019, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706) (IEEPA) and the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), issued E.O. 13886, “Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism” (84 FR 48041, September 12, 2019), effective September 10, 2019. In E.O. 13886, the President, finding it necessary to consolidate and enhance sanctions to combat acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism by foreign terrorists, terminated the national emergency declared in E.O. 12947 of January 23, 1995, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (60 FR 5079, January 25, 1995), and revoked E.O. 12947, as amended by E.O. 13099 of August 20, 1998, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (63 FR 45167, August 25, 1998). In addition, the President amended E.O. 13224, in order to build upon initial steps taken in E.O. 12947, to further strengthen and consolidate sanctions to combat the continuing threat posed by international terrorism, and in order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in E.O. 13224, with respect to the continuing and immediate threat of grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, which include acts of terrorism that threaten the Middle East peace process.
Section 1 of E.O. 13886 replaces in its entirety section 1 of E.O. 13224, which had been amended by a number of prior Executive orders (E.O. 13224, as amended by all such authorities, is referred to herein as “amended E.O. 13224”), but does not amend the Annex to E.O. 13224, which was previously amended by E.O. 13268 of July 2, 2002, “Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Taliban and Amendment of Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001” (67 FR 44751, July 3, 2002) (“amended Annex to E.O. 13224”).
