A former senior research leader studying terrorist financing in the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, has stated in a public interview that Hamas has substantial funds in a number of banks in Turkey, which it could use to supports its terrorist operations, even after a military defeat in Gaza. This claim may force compliance officers at financial institutions located in the European Union whose customers trade with Turkish companies to take a hard look at whether the terrorist financing risk levels are so high as to redline Turkey in international trade transactions. Turkey is showing no signs of reining in, or even banishing, Hamas terrorist operations launched from its territory, and openly supports Hamas.
Greatly increased scrutiny, by American law enforcement, in the aftermath of the Hamas invasion of Southern Israel, as part and parcel of US support of Israel's right to destroy Hamas as an act of self defense, could expose EU banks to major American civil fines and penalties, and even a bar to accessing the country's financial structure, which would operate as a financial death penalty for any bank so designated as a terrorist financier.
In other news, and adding to our recent coverage on how Hamas was able to move large amounts of israeli currency into the hands of its terrorist agents in the West Bank, five money exchange houses in the territory were closed by Israeli authorities for providing financial support to terrorism. The relationship of those shuttered companies to foreign financial institutions has not been made public, but there have been multiple instances of Hamas supporting terrorist activities from its safe havens within Turkey. Whether Country Risk for Turkey should be greatly increased as the result of these recent events should be a topic for compliance officers charged with risk management at their financial institutions.
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