At the time of the October 7 massacre, about 450 Hamas terrorists had ties to Canada, and some of them were residents, Global News reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the intelligence.
This number included Usama Ali, also known as Radwan and Rizwan, who the US Treasury Department claimed was appointed as head of the Hamas Investment Office. Ali holds both Lebanese and Canadian citizenships, and his location is currently unknown.
According to the Treasury Department’s release, the Hamas Investment Office held assets valued at more than $500 million, including stakes in various international companies. The office handled daily portfolio management to fund the terrorist organization.
“It’s a strategic long-term investment,” said former US Treasury official Matthew Levitt in an interview with Global News. “You are living off the income that the companies are generating.”
The Treasury Department also alleged that Ali served on Hamas’s Executive Committee and was a member of Hamas’s Shura Council, which elects Hamas executives and decides on Hamas strategies and laws. He was in contact with Hamas leaders, including Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh and Political Bureau Deputy Chief Salih al-Aruri.
Haniyeh and al-Aruri have both been killed, but Ali’s current status is unknown.
Ali’s deputy, Hisham Younis Yahia Qafisheh, was involved in several companies controlled by Hamas, serving on the Boards of Directors of companies in various countries.
In October of 2023, the US Treasury expanded its sanctions on Hamas terrorists, claiming to target a “secret Hamas investment portfolio.”
Canadian residents with ties to Hamas
Many Canadian residents may not have served as members of Hamas's leadership, but were in other positions or provided funding.
For example, Omar Alkassab, a Canadian resident and Syrian refugee, allegedly owned a digital wallet associated with the Dubai Money exchange, a business that was designated as a Terrorist Organization by the Israeli Defense Ministry in 2022
The Dubai Money Exchange, a business unaffiliated with the Emirate of Dubai and the UAE, had “been a significant part of Hamas’ economic infrastructure for laundering and transferring capital from sources of funding abroad to Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” according to the Defense Ministry's official designation.
Alkassab originally worked as a delivery driver in Syria and moved with his family to Turkey and later Canada when the Syrian Civil War broke out. He now works as a house painter in Winnipeg and has applied for Canadian citizenship.
According to Canadian federal records released to Global News, Alkassab’s application was suspended in May 2022 as part of an investigation, a month after his crypto wallet was discovered.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service sent its assessment report on Alkassab to immigration officials in January of 2025. The assessment flagged his Hamas association, citing publicly available information from the Israeli government indicating that Alkassab owned a crypto wallet believed to belong to the Dubai Company.
Alkassab claimed not to know why his citizenship application was delayed or whether there were any investigations against him.
The delay has “affected my confidence, self-esteem and overall outlook on the future,” Alkassab wrote in a court statement.
“The uncertainty and instability caused by my lack of citizenship have taken a great toll on both my mental and emotional well-being.”