Spanish police arrest Chinese hair salon owner accused of financing Hamas

Spanish police have detained a 38-year-old Chinese national who owned a hair salon near Barcelona on suspicion of financing the Hamas terror group through about 600,000 euros ($714,960) in cryptocurrency transfers, regional police say.

Investigators traced at least 31 crypto transactions from virtual wallets controlled by the suspect to addresses that are suspected of being linked to an entity used by Hamas.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the 27-member European Union and other Western nations.

Police decline to comment on the suspect’s possible motives and on whether he had interacted knowingly with Hamas or was just an intermediary, citing the sensitivity of the investigation.

During searches of the suspect’s hair salon and home, officers seized crypto-assets, cash, some 9,000 cigars, jewelry, computers and mobile phones, the police said.

They also froze several bank accounts, with the total value of seized and blocked assets exceeding 370,000 euros.

Their investigation began last June during a separate probe into fraud and money laundering, police say.

Authorities have warned in recent years that militant groups are using cryptocurrencies to move funds across borders, complicating efforts to track and disrupt terrorism financing.