Press Release
☷Jury Convicts Dutch National for Participation in Terror Financing Ring
U.S. Department of Justice ( By Press Release office)
May 03,2022
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Today , a federal jury convicted a Dutch woman on charges stemming from her participation in a terrorist financing ring in support of the Somalia - based terrorist group al - Shabaab . According to court records and evidence presented at trial , Farhia Hassan , 38 , was involved with a group of women from more than a dozen countries around the world who ran a fundraising ring to provide financial support to al - Shabaab from in or about February 2011 through in or about July 2014 . Through conduits in Nairobi , Kenya , and Hargeisa , Somalia , the group of women funneled cash payments via money remitters directly to members of the terrorist group . According to members of the conspiracy , the money was used to fund safehouses and to purchase trucks and weaponry in support of al - Shabaab . The women coordinated the payments using online chatrooms . Hassan , in particular , was involved in fundraising in the Netherlands under false pretenses by representing to donors that money was being collected to fund charitable ventures , such as schools for orphans , when it was in fact being funneled to terrorists . Two U . S . - based members of the fundraising ring , Muna Osman Jama , 41 , of Reston , Virginia , and Hinda Osman Dhirane , 51 , of Kent , Washington , were convicted in 2016 for their participation and were sentenced to 12 - and 11 - years’ imprisonment , respectively . Hassan was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization . She faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when sentenced on July 22 . A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U . S . Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors . Assistant Attorney General Matthew G . Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division , U . S . Attorney Jessica D . Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia , Assistant Director Timothy Langan of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division , and Assistant Director in Charge Steven M . D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement after U . S . District Judge Anthony J . Trenga accepted the verdict . Assistant U . S . Attorneys James P . Gillis and Danya E . Atiyeh for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case , with valuable assistance provided by Trial Attorney Kathleen Campbell of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section . The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition from the Netherlands .
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