FinCEN alert flags Israeli extremists fomenting violence in West Bank

The alert, issued Thursday, aims to guide U.S. financial institutions in identifying and reporting suspicious activity associated with the funding of such violence.

“Financial institutions can play a critical role in detecting and reporting potential suspicious activity related to the financing of Israeli extremist settler violence,” said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki in a press release. “The U.S. financial system should be protected from those who seek to support or perpetrate violence and bring further instability to the West Bank.”

In an executive order announcing sanctions against those fomenting the unrest, President Joe Biden said the level of violence in the West Bank has “reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability” of the region.

In a parallel action, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control added four individuals to the specially designated nationals list who are allegedly responsible for leading a riot that involved setting vehicles and buildings on fire, along with assaulting civilians and causing property damage, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian civilian, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The alert underscores the potential involvement of certain nonprofit organizations in facilitating payments for violence in the West Bank, FinCEN said. Financial institutions are reminded to adopt a risk-based approach to customer due diligence requirements when assessing the risk profiles of charities and other nonprofit customers.

As no single red flag is definitive of illicit or suspicious activity, U.S. financial institutions are urged to consider all surrounding facts and circumstances before determining the suspicious nature of a specific transaction or its association with potential Israeli violent extremist groups or campaigns, FinCEN noted.

Other potential red flags could be transactions with no apparent economic, business, or lawful purpose or solicited donations on social media in support of Israeli violent extremist groups or campaigns.

FinCEN also flagged purchases of tactical military gear for resale overseas and destined for nongovernment Israeli end users in the West Bank—particularly if the end users are currently or have been previously linked to Israeli violent extremist groups in the region.