Federal law enforcement authorities seized from a Chicago-area couple about $1.4 million in cash and property they said was used in a money-laundering scheme to channel funds to Hamas. According to an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Mohammad Salah and his wife, Azita, sent money to Hamas operatives in Israel and the West Bank who bought weapons that were used to kill Israeli soldiers. Salah, an American citizen, has denied the charges. He returned to the United States in November after serving nearly five years in an Israeli prison for channeling money to Hamas. Local Jewish officials welcomed the seizure of assets and called on officials to prosecute Salah under anti-terrorism laws.
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