The scam, acknowledged by the Hamas regime, was first reported in 2008.
At the time, Hamas had encouraged investors to contribute to a fund that
would expand the smuggling tunnel
network with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. The investment was expected to pay as
much as 200 percent profit.
At one point, then-Interior Minister Said Siyam established two
companies — one in Egypt and the other in Turkey — to invest the
funds from Gazans. The sources said Hamas was making tens of millions of
dollars per month from the smuggling trade.
But Siyam was killed during the 22-day war with Israel in January 2009
and investors found their money had disappeared. The Hamas regime first
denied the investment scheme, and then security agents forced the
contributors to forego their right to sue.
"The document commits the contributor to acknowledge that he received
all his money," Palestinian Media Center, aligned with the opposition Fatah
movement, said. "He also pledged that he would have no right to sue either
in court or in tribal councils."
Hamas officials have acknowledged that at least $100 million was stolen
in the scam, said to have been promoted by two entrepreneurs, Ihab Al Kurdi
and Waeb Rubi. Officials said both men claimed that senior Hamas members,
including Siyam, were involved in the investment scheme.
"Kurdi said he had good relations with people in government, but what
they were selling was a lie," Hamas Economics Minister Ziyad Al Zaza, who is
investigating the scam, said.
Revenue from the smuggling tunnels has dropped significantly since the
Hamas-Israel war. Egypt has increased efforts to block the flow of smuggled
goods to the Gaza Strip while Israel has enabled the arrival of daily
humanitarian shipments.