Season 9, Episode 8: Hamas, terrorist financing and the U.S. response to the 7 October attack

This episode of Compliance Clarified brings together Rachel Wolcott, senior editor in London and Brett Wolf, senior anti-money laundering editor for the Americas to discuss Hamas, terrorist financing and the U.S. response to the 7 October attack.It has been a little over a month since Hamas fighters launched a brutal attack on Israel, unleashing a war, and leaving thousands of civilians dead. The attack took Israel and the world by surprise and raised questions about whether enough attention is being paid to terrorist financing in the Middle East and beyond.In this episode, Brett and Rachel talk through actions various U.S. agencies have taken in response to Hamas' attack to address and describe their financing activities to financial institutions and others who unwittingly or willingly are enabling funds to flow to Hamas.Topics covered include:Hamas’ current fundingNew U.S. sanctions and policy responsesHamas money flows red flagsDisputed role of crypto in financingThis episode was recorded before the UK imposed new sanctions on Hamas on 14 November.Links:Outside paywallU.S. Treasury issues additional Hamas sanctions alongside UK, meets with the private sector:https://regintel-content.thomsonreuters.com/document/IDC26C880832211EE918ACE7D4282A8B3U.S. Treasury, Commerce Departments urge financial institutions to police export control evasion worldwide:https://regintel-content.thomsonreuters.com/document/IFD79AB107CDD11EE918ACE7D4282A8B3Inside paywallU.S. Treasury Department issues alert on Hamas money flows, shares 'red flags': http://go-ri.tr.com/XhT6BPU.S. Treasury official lays out a three-pronged approach to combat Hamas financing, including financial institutions' role: http://go-ri.tr.com/wA1rvN U.S. Treasury targets Hamas 'secret investment portfolio' in response to attack on Israel: http://go-ri.tr.com/PmPeXZU.S. Treasury moves to designate crypto mixers a 'primary' laundering concern under PATRIOT Act authority: http://go-ri.tr.com/ST0DV1 Contact [email protected]@thomsonreuters.com Compliance Clarified is a podcast from Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence.Listen to wide-ranging, insightful discussions on all things compliance for financial services firms. We delve into the hot topics of the day, the challenges faced and offer up practical ideas for emerging good practice. We de-mystify regulation and explore the art, as well as the science, of the ever-expanding role of the compliance officer.  Enforcements, digital transformation, regulatory change, governance, culture, conduct risk – anything and everything impacting the compliance function is up for discussion.