A Jordanian businessman who signed a contract with the Belgian government for the delivery of 15 million protection face masks, via Luxembourg-based mailbox company Avrox, is involved in a bank blacklisted by Israel for funding terrorist activities, Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported.
Hamza Talhouni is a major shareholder of Cairo Amman Bank, and his brother sits on the board of directors. The bank holds hundreds of accounts of former Palestinian detainees convicted of terrorist attacks. It was on these accounts that the money they received for their deeds ended up.
Israel views the banks as financiers of terrorism. The Israeli embassy in Belgium confirmed to the paper that Cairo Amman is on a blacklist, despite having frozen the accounts in the meantime.
The contract between the businessman and Belgium amounts to at least 40 million euros.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, Belgium has faced a debate about the possibility of providing the population with at least one reusable fabric face masks. The lack of these masks in the country was at odds with the strong recommendation by health authorities that they should be used in public places.
More than 9,000 people died from Covid-19 in the country.