Syrian national accused of funneling over $9 million in US-funded humanitarian aid to terrorist organization

A Syrian national was charged aft allegedly funneling much than $9 cardinal successful U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance to violent organizations — including al Qaeda.

According to a quality release from the U.S. attorney's office, District of Columbia, 53-year-old Mahmoud Al Hafyan was charged successful a 12-count indictment for allegedly diverting much than $9 cardinal successful U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance intended for Syrian civilians to equipped combatant groups.

The groups included the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF), which is simply a designated overseas violent enactment affiliated with al Qaeda successful Iraq, the merchandise said.

"This suspect not lone defrauded the U.S. government, but helium besides gave the humanitarian assistance helium stole to a overseas violent organization," U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves said. "While this overseas violent enactment fought with the cruel al-Assad regime, the radical who were expected to person the assistance suffered."

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A Syrian exile pistillate carries her kid arsenic she prepares to spell backmost location to Syria arsenic portion of a voluntary return, successful the eastbound Lebanese borderline municipality of Arsal, May 14. (Hussein Malla/Associated Press)

According to the indictment, Al Hafyan had entree to U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance aft positioning himself arsenic the caput of a non-governmental enactment (NGO). Authorities said that helium managed 160 NGO employees astatine the humanitarian presumption successful Syria.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said that the NGO Alf Hafyan headed was awarded $122 cardinal betwixt January 2015 done November 2018. The bureau noted that the wealth was intended to supply nutrient and aesculapian supplies successful the war-torn country.

Along with astatine slightest 2 co-conspirators, Al Hafyan directed nutrient kits valued astatine millions of dollars to commanders starring ANF. The designated overseas violent organization's superior nonsubjective was the overthrow of the authorities of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has a long-documented past of conducting wide executions of civilians, termination bombings and kidnappings.

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To marque it look similar NGO was dispersing the kits to war-affected families successful Syria, they allegedly inflated the magnitude of nutrient kits received and falsified beneficiary logs, the bureau said.

According to the affidavit, obtained by Fox News, Al Hafyan threatened the NGO's employees who refused to comply to travel his orders to defraud. Along with threatening noncompliant workers, Al Hafyan forced employees astatine the NGO to donate portions of their salaries to enactment the violent organization.

"Not lone was Al Hafyan supporting violent terrorists, but helium was stealing wealth from the U.S. authorities that was meant for humanitarian efforts. This nationalist indictment is the culmination of years of work," said FBI Special Agent successful Charge Sanjay Virmani of the Washington Field Office Counterterrorism Division.

Displaced Syrians clasp flags during a protestation calling for an extremity to the strikes and for Ankara to unfastened the frontier astatine the Atmeh crossing connected the Syrian-Turkish border, successful Idlib governorate, Syria.  (Reuters/Khalil Ashawi)

Authorities said that the Syrian nationalist sold the humanitarian kits connected the achromatic marketplace to ANF commanders for this idiosyncratic benefit.

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"Al Hafyan and his coconspirators falsified beneficiary logs and inflated the fig of nutrient kits received by war-affected families successful the Syrian villages of Bweiti, Lof, [and] Mazratt-Sh," the bureau said.