Reported by Philip Heijmans and Niki Koswanage

Malaysia’s government can’t rule out whether a local charity funneled millions of dollars to Hamas, according to officials familiar with the matter, as it probes the group for allegedly supporting a conservative Islamist organization in the Southeast Asian nation.

Malaysia’s anti-graft body on Oct. 17 froze as many as 41 bank accounts of the Aman Palestin Berhad charity organization, which contained nearly $15 million, over the alleged misuse of public donations. It also raided the charity’s office as part of an investigation regarding offenses under money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been the staunchest advocate of the Palestinian cause in Southeast Asia, saying last month that Malaysia would not recognize what he says is a unilateral attempt by the US to restrict support of Hamas. Malaysian leaders have a long history of friendly ties with the group, designated a terrorist organization by the European Union and US.

Malaysia is more concerned about whether the charity has links with Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, an organization that backs the imposition of Sharia law in the country, the people said. While the government has oversight over state donations to Palestinian causes, the official said those from charities could be subject to fraud or wind up in the wrong places.

Read full report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-11/malaysia-can-t-rule-out-if-millions-in-donations-went-to-hamas