By Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir and John Irish

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudanese authorities have taken control of lucrative assets that for years provided backing for Hamas, shedding light on how the country served as a haven for the Palestinian militant group under former leader Omar al-Bashir.

Officials claim that at least 12 companies were connected to Hamas, and this has helped speed Sudan’s alignment with the West. Khartoum, which has been removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror (SST), in recent years, is now on the path to debt relief worth more than 50 billion dollars.

According to Palestinian and Sudanese analysts, Hamas lost an international base from which its members and support could reside, raise funds, and funnel Iranian weapons and money to Gaza Strip.

The reach of these networks is evident in the list of assets seized by Sudanese officials and an intelligence source from Western countries.

According to officials from a task force https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sudan-politics-idUSKBN2BT20R set up to dismantle the Bashir regime, they include real estate, company shares, a hotel in a prime Khartoum location, an exchange bureau, a TV station, and more than a million acres of farmland.

Wagdi Salih (a leader of the Task Force – The Committee to Dismantle and Retrieve Public Funds) said that Sudan was a hub for money laundering and terrorist financing.

He said that the system provided “a lot of cover and a large umbrella both internally as well as externally.”

An intelligence source from the West claims that Sudan was using techniques common to organized crime. These included trustee shareholders as well as rents in cash and transfer through exchange bureaux.

Bashir supported Hamas openly and was friendly to its leaders.

According to a Task Force member speaking under anonymity, “They were given preferential treatment for tenders, tax relief, and they were allowed transfer to Hamas/Gaza with no limitations,” stated a task force member.

ISLAMIST HUB

Sudan’s journey from pariah state to U.S. ally has been gradual. After Bashir was elected in 1989, the country had become a center for radical Islamists. It also sheltered Osama bel Laden for many years. The United States later sanctioned Bashir for links to Palestinian militants.

Bashir attempted to distance his self from the hardline Islamism by increasing security cooperation with Washington. Sudan cut all relations with Iran in 2016 and U.S. trade restrictions against Khartoum were lifted the year after Washington recognized that Hamas no longer had state support.

However, the networks supporting Hamas were still in existence up to Bashir’s death.

According to an official from the task force, Hamas’ investments in Sudan started with small-scale businesses like fast food restaurants and then moved into construction and real estate.

Hassan and Alabed was an example. It started off as a cement firm and then expanded to large-scale real estate development.

It was part of a network that included about 10 large corporations with interlinked share ownership linked to Bashir ally Abdelbasit Hamza, which moved large amounts through foreign bank accounts.

Alrowad Real Estate Development was the largest, listed on Khartoum’s stock exchange in 2007, with subsidiaries said to have laundered funds and used currency to fund Hamas.

Hamza was sentenced to 10 years in prison for corruption and transferred to Khartoum, where Bashir is currently being held. According to the task force, he owned assets in excess of $1.2 billion. Hamza’s lawyer Bashir could not reach him for comment.

The broadcaster Tayba, as well as an affiliated charity called Almishkat, created a second network worth approximately $20 million. According to Maher Abouljokh (the caretaker who was brought in to run Tayba), it was managed by two Hamas-members, who obtained citizenship and built businesses and real estate. Abouljokh said that the TV channel funnelled money from Gulf and laundered millions. It also had obvious links to Hamas.

Contacted directly by Reuters, Hamas’ official Sami Abu Zuhri said that although the channel did not have investments in Sudan but admitted to an effect from Sudan’s political change: “Unfortunately,” he explained, “There were several measures which weakened the presence (Hamas), and limited the political ties with them.”

NORMALISATION

By last year, Sudan was desperate to escape the SST list, a prerequisite for debt relief and support from international lenders.

It agreed to normalize ties with Israel under pressure from the United States. However, the agreement has been slow to be implemented.

An ex-diplomat from the United States who was working on Sudan during the Trump administration stated that Khartoum’s focus for negotiations was to shut down Hamas. He stated that “We were pressing on an opendoor.”

One source says that the United States sent Sudan a list with companies it wanted to shut down. Another source claims this was a Western intelligence source. The State Department refused to comment.

Officials from the task force stated that while many Hamas-affiliated individuals went to Turkey with some assets, they also left behind approximately 80% their investments.

Magdi El gazouli, a Sudanese analyst said that Sudan’s Transitional Leaders “consider themselves to be the antithesis of Bashir regionally.” They want to be seen as part of the new regional security order.”

Adnan Abu Amer, a Palestinian analyst, said “The coup against al–Bashir caused real problems to Hamas and Iran.” Iran and Hamas had to search for alternative solutions, as the coup against al Bashir happened suddenly.