Spanish police arrest Chinese hair salon owner accused of financing Hamas
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Members of the armed wing of Hamas in Gaza City on Nov 5, 2025.
PHOTO: SAHER ALGHORRA/NYTIMES
- A Chinese salon owner near Barcelona is suspected of financing Hamas with €600,000 in crypto transfers.
- Police traced at least 31 crypto transactions from the suspect to addresses linked to a Hamas-affiliated entity.
- Authorities seized cryptoassets, cash, and other valuables, froze accounts exceeding €370,000, and continue investigating the suspect's motives.
AI generated
MADRID - Spanish police have detained a 38-year-old Chinese national who owned a hair salon near Barcelona on suspicion of financing the militant group Hamas through about €600,000 (S$900,000) in cryptocurrency transfers, regional police said on Jan 30.
Investigators traced at least 31 crypto transactions from virtual wallets controlled by the suspect to addresses that are suspected of being linked to an entity used by the Islamist group, whose attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, triggered a two-year war
Hamas is designated as a terrorist organisation by the 27-member European Union and other Western nations.
Police declined to comment on the suspect’s possible motives and on whether he had interacted knowingly with Hamas or was just an intermediary, citing the sensitivity of the investigation.
During searches of the suspect’s hair salon and home, officers seized cryptoassets, cash, some 9,000 cigars, jewellery, computers and mobile phones, the police said.
They also froze several bank accounts, with the total value of seized and blocked assets exceeding €370,000.
Their investigation began last June during a separate probe into fraud and money laundering, police said.
Authorities have warned in recent years that militant groups are using cryptocurrencies to move funds across borders, complicating efforts to track and disrupt terrorism financing. REUTERS
