Feds Probe $100M Anti-Israel ‘War Chest’ Tied to Mamdani Ally
Federal investigators are probing whether a UK-based nonprofit with $100 million illegally funneled money to Al-Haq, a US-sanctioned Palestinian organization.
The Department of Homeland Security is scrutinizing a UK-based entity known only as PFF over concerns it may have funneled funds to Al-Haq, a Palestinian group sanctioned by Washington last September, according to James Franey writing in New York Post. Federal agents are also looking into whether the fund’s architects use murky British corporate structures to hide cross-border money transfers, sources told the outlet.
At the center of the fundraising operation is Bassema Yousef, a New York-born Democratic donor now residing in the upscale Kensington district of London. Yousef, a former Al Jazeera employee and Booz Allen Hamilton consultant, has a history of contributing to anti-Israel Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s campaigns. She previously worked at the International Rescue Committee, the global aid organization headed by former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
Sources describe Yousef as a well-connected political operative moving between State Department circles, management consulting, and elite progressive networks. She maintains close ties to Waleed Shahid and Zara Rahim, both senior advisors to Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s successful November campaign. The mayor himself is not under investigation, and City Hall declined to comment.
Yousef’s social media presence reveals extreme anti-Israel rhetoric, including attacks on CBS correspondent Matt Gutman over his Jewish background, claiming his network is controlled by Zionists. In one outburst responding to footage of air-raid sirens in Tel Aviv, she dismissed Israeli security concerns, calling the city “stolen Palestinian land” and accusing Israel of war crimes.
The fund was reportedly established with backing from Yasser Shahin, a Palestinian-Australian motorsports billionaire, and Basil Qunibi, a Texas-based private equity executive. Shahin, 49, who has raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, serves as a director of the multibillion-dollar Peregrine Corporation, the Australian retail conglomerate he inherited from his late father. British corporate records confirm his involvement in setting up PFF’s London entities, while the organization also maintains a Delaware-based nonprofit registered with the IRS.
Qunibi leads Atom Investors and sits on the board of World Food Program USA. He previously founded Novus Partners, a portfolio intelligence platform serving major institutional investors. DHS sources have not suggested Atom Investors has any connection to PFF.
A spokesperson from Prosek Partners, responding on Qunibi’s behalf, broadly denied the allegations but repeatedly refused to provide an on-the-record statement about his alleged role in creating PFF. Neither Shahin nor Yousef responded to requests for comment.
Sources familiar with the operation describe it as a coordinated effort by Arab donors across America, Britain, and Australia to mount a systematic campaign against Israel. The group allegedly operates with deliberate opacity, keeping its activities away from public scrutiny.
The fund also appears linked to Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain. While diplomatic protocols bar him from formal board membership, sources claim he helped recruit the fund’s key figures. When contacted by the outlet, Zomlot declined to dispute the names of those allegedly involved, saying only that questions should be directed to his office before ending the call. He did not respond to subsequent inquiries about the federal investigation or claims that PFF funds reached a sanctioned Palestinian entity.
PFF’s public website portrays the organization as a global foundation pursuing justice, equality, and freedom through what it calls a virtuous cycle of capital and impact. But insiders paint a different picture, alleging the group’s executives secretly finance anti-Israel messaging campaigns and fund legal battles defending pro-Palestinian activists, all while attempting to influence international politics from behind a veil of corporate secrecy.
The Homeland Security Investigations unit has authority to investigate illicit cross-border capital flows, including transfers of American funds to foreign entities, according to the Congressional Research Service and the agency’s public mandate.
With information from New York Post
