Turkish ministry refutes NYT reporting on Turkey-based Hamas company

Duvar English

The Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry on Dec. 18 published a statement that refuted the Dec. 16 New York Times article that claimed the center of Hamas’ financial network was a company based in Turkey. 

The article titled “Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off” mentioned documents obtained during an Israeli operation revealing Hamas assets, one of which was a real estate firm named Trend GYO listed in the Turkish stock exchange.

The article also noted the Turkish state and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization but as a "liberation group." 

The ministry statement said, “The article contains misleading information and distorts the facts regarding Turkey’s fight against terrorism financing.”  

The Ministry held that authorities had investigated the legal and real persons attached to the company and found no Hamas connection despite the article's claims.

The statement thus claimed Turkey’s financial system was not abused for terrorism financing.  

The statement also refuted any connection the company had with the Oct. 7 attacks suggested by the article, citing “the absence of any significant outflow of financial assets” at the time. 

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