A Syrian national has been charged with funneling more than $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid to terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda.
According to the news release Mahmoud Al Hafian, 53, was indicted on a 12-count indictment by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia, accusing him of diverting more than $9 million in U.S.-funded humanitarian aid intended for Syrian civilians to armed combat groups. was indicted for.
The group also included al-Nusra Front (ANF), a designated foreign terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq, the statement said.
“This defendant not only defrauded the United States government, but also provided stolen humanitarian aid to foreign terrorist organizations,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves. “Those who were supposed to receive aid suffered while this foreign terrorist organization fought the brutal al-Assad regime.”
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A Syrian refugee woman holds a child in the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal on May 14 as she prepares to return to Syria as part of her voluntary repatriation. (Hussein Mara/Associated News Agency)
According to the indictment, Al-Hafian was able to receive U.S.-funded humanitarian aid after serving as a representative for a non-governmental organization (NGO). Authorities said he managed 160 NGO workers at humanitarian aid stations in Syria.
The US Attorney's Office announced that the NGO headed by Alf Hafian received $122 million between January 2015 and November 2018. The agency noted that the funds were intended to provide food and medicine to the war-torn country.
Al-Hafian, along with at least two co-conspirators, delivered millions of dollars worth of food kits to ANF commanders. The designated foreign terrorist organization's primary objective is to overthrow the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and it has a long and documented history of mass executions, suicide bombings, and kidnappings of civilians.
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The agency said the NGO is suspected of inflating the amount of food kits it received and falsifying recipient records to make it appear that it was distributing the kits to families affected by Syria's war.
According to an affidavit obtained by FOX News, Al-Hafian threatened to commit fraud against NGO workers who did not comply with his orders. Al-Hafian threatened noncompliant workers and forced NGO workers to donate a portion of their salaries to support terrorist organizations.
“Al-Hafian not only supported violent terrorists, he also stole funds from the U.S. government for humanitarian efforts,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Burmani, Washington Field. This is the culmination of many efforts.” Secretariat of the Counter-Terrorism Division.
Displaced Syrians raise a flag during a protest demanding an end to the strike and for the Turkish government to open the border at the Atme crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border in Syria's Idlib province. (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)
Authorities said the Syrian sold the humanitarian kits on the black market to ANF commanders for personal gain.
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“Al-Hafian and his co-conspirators falsified beneficiary records and inflated the number of food kits received by war-affected families in the Syrian villages of Bweiti, Rohu and Rohu. [and] Mazrat Shu,” the agency said.
