Feds probe $100M anti-Israel ‘struggle chest’ tied to – Business News
The feds are probing a shadowy nonprofit’s $100 million anti-Israel “war chest” allegedly amassed by a glamorous ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a racecar-driving billionaire and a Texas non-public equity mogul, The Post has discovered.
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating a UK-based outfit identified solely as PFF, scrutinizing whether or not it illegally funneled donor funds to Al-Haq, a Palestinian group sanctioned by the US in September, sources mentioned.
Two sources with direct data mentioned federal brokers are investigating more broadly whether or not the fund’s organizers make use of opaque UK company entities to obscure cross-border financial flows.
Bassema Yousef, a former Al Jazeera staffer, is described because the linchpin of the outfit. Getty Images
One insider mentioned the “linchpin” for the group’s fundraising is Bassema Yousef, a New York-born Democratic donor who now lives within the swanky London neighborhood of Kensington.
The Mamdani ally is a former Al Jazeera staffer and Booz Allen Hamilton advisor who has repeatedly forked out to the campaigns of Israel-bashing Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich).
Insiders described Yousef as “a well-connected operative who bridges the gap between State Department veterans, management consultants, and elite progressive spheres.”
They added she is a close good friend of Mamdani spin physician Waleed Shahid and Zara Rahim, a senior advisor to the left-winger’s successful marketing campaign in November.
Yousef’s Threads account options a string of unhinged anti-Israel tirades through which she unloads on CBS correspondent Matt Gutman, who’s Jewish, as a result of his community “is owned and run by Zionist (sic)”.
Yousef’s restricted social media footprint showcases her kooky anti-Israeli views. In March, she unloaded on CBS correspondent Matt Gutman.
“No-one cares,” she ranted in response to Gutman’s short video from March displaying air-raid sirens blaring in Tel Aviv. “Israel is too busy committing war crimes with US tax dollars,” including that the Israeli metropolis is “stolen Palestinian land.”
Yousef allegedly established PFF with the backing of Palestinian-Australian motorsports magnate Yasser Shahin and the Austin, Texas-based buyout government Basil Qunibi.
Yasser Shahin poses for a portrait during a photoshoot on the 6 Hours of Imola, the primary spherical of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, on April 16, 2026 on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. (Shutterstock) DPPI/DPPI / Shutterstock
Shahin – a 49-year-old racing driver who has competed within the 24 Hours of Le Mans – is a director of the multibillion-dollar Peregrine Corporation. He owns a stake within the Australian retail giant he inherited from his late father Fred, filings show.
UK company filings additionally affirm Adelaide-born Shahin’s position in establishing PFF’s London entities. PFF additionally has a nonprofit based mostly in Delaware, in accordance to the IRS web site.
Qunibi, in the meantime, serves because the chief government of Atom Investors and sits on the board of the World Food Program USA. He beforehand based Novus Partners, a pioneering portfolio intelligence platform utilized by prime institutional buyers. There is no suggestion from DHS sources that Atom is concerned with PFF.
Basil Qunibi, Chief Executive Officer of Atom, was concerned in setting up the fund, insiders mentioned. Atom
A spokesperson at Prosek Partners, handling queries on behalf of Qunibi, broadly denied the allegations however refused a number of requests by The Post to present an on-the-record assertion concerning his reported position in establishing PFF.
Shahin and Yousef didn’t return the Post’s request for remark. City Hall additionally didn’t return a request for remark. The mayor just isn’t beneath scrutiny.
“A new fund set up by Arabs across the US, UK, and Australia has been built to take on Israel,” one of the sources acquainted with the operation claimed.
Palestinian ambassador Husam Zomlot, middle, is reportedly informally concerned with the fund, alongside hard-left British lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn, left. Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
“This new organization operates in the shadows, and their actions should be brought into the public sphere,” the particular person briefed on the matter added.
PFF additionally maintains ties to Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK. While diplomatic guidelines forestall him from formally becoming a member of the board, sources allege he helped assemble the fund’s key gamers.
Zomlot pointedly declined to dispute the names behind the fund when confronted by The Post in a temporary phone interview on Friday.
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“I cannot answer any of these questions. Please reach out to my office,” he mentioned earlier than hanging up.
The diplomat didn’t reply to any follow-up messages concerning the DHS probe and the allegations that its funds might have reached a sanctioned Palestinian group.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal is displayed forward of an anticipated press convention on the FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, January 24, 2026. (Nathan Howard) REUTERS
PFF’s web site claims the fund is “a global foundation designed to pursue justice, equality, and freedom for all people, by building a virtuous cycle of capital, impact, resilience, and legitimacy.”
However, sources with direct data of its internal workings declare that the executives attempt to affect international politics by secretly financing anti-Israel messaging and bankrolling legal fights to defend pro-Palestinian activists.
Yousef is an ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. There is no suggestion that the previous Queens assemblyman is beneath investigation. ZUMAPRESS.com
According to the Congressional Research Service and the company’s public mandate, the DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations unit can step in when illicit capital crosses borders, together with transfers of American wealth via British company entities.
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“HSI does not comment on the existence or status of specific investigations, nor on investigative methods, intelligence sources, or potential enforcement actions,” a DHS spokesperson informed The Post when requested concerning the reported inquiry.
HSI investigators particularly goal networks that exploit official financial systems to disguise unlawful transfers. Agents routinely goal bulk money smuggling, trade-based money laundering, and the financing of sanctioned organizations.
The reported scrutiny, if lively, doesn’t point out felony wrongdoing, and none of the events alleged to be concerned have been charged with a crime.
