JORDAN’S TERROR FINANCIER AND MONEY LAUNDERER APPOINTED MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD CHIEF: MEET MUATH AL-KHAWALDEH
JaFaJ Intelligence Assessment
On September 19, 2026, Jordan’s Al-Umma Party elected Muath Al-Khawaldeh as its new Secretary-General, after he received 382 votes against 369 for his rival Ahmad Al-Qatawneh, who subsequently withdrew before the second round. The party was formerly known as the Islamic Action Front and has historically been regarded as the political arm of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Khawaldeh is not a newcomer to the Brotherhood establishment. He became the Muslim Brotherhood’s official spokesman in 2015, later served on its Shura Council and Executive Office, and headed its media, political and Palestine departments.
It was during this period that Al-Khawaldeh became particularly prominent as a public advocate of what the Brotherhood calls Palestinian “resistance.”
In television appearances and public statements, he repeatedly called for political, military and financial support for Hamas and defended armed attacks against Israel under the banner of resistance and the liberation of Palestine. His rhetoric has included praise for individual armed operations. In October 2024, for example, following an armed infiltration from Jordan in which two Israeli soldiers were wounded and two attackers were killed, Al-Khawaldeh publicly described the attackers as Jordanian “heroes” who had carried out a “jihadist epic,” while declaring that Jordanians were partners in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle.
His relationship with Hamas was also not concealed. In 2024, speaking as the Brotherhood’s spokesman, Al-Khawaldeh publicly acknowledged that contacts with Hamas leaders abroad were “not secret.”
But according to information obtained by JaFaJ, Al-Khawaldeh’s importance to the Muslim Brotherhood has extended considerably beyond propaganda and politics.
THE BROTHERHOOD’S MONEY MAN
JaFaJ sources have for years described Al-Khawaldeh as one of the Muslim Brotherhood’s principal money men in Jordan: a fundraiser and financial intermediary responsible for obtaining, handling and moving substantial amounts of money for the movement.
According to information obtained by JaFaJ, one of his principal sources of funding has been wealthy Iraqi businessmen associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, together with businessmen and donors from Gulf Arab states.
The method described to JaFaJ is straightforward.
Al-Khawaldeh receives substantial cash donations from Iraqi and Gulf businessmen in Amman.
Rather than having those businessmen transfer the money directly to Brotherhood organizations, the cash is deposited into Al-Khawaldeh’s personal bank account and into bank accounts belonging to other Muslim Brotherhood members in Jordan.
Those Brotherhood members then transfer or deposit the money with the Islamic Charity Center, presenting it as legitimate individual charitable donations.
According to JaFaJ’s assessment, this provides layers between the original cash donor and the organization ultimately receiving the money, disguising its original source and making the funds appear to originate from ordinary individual donors.
In simple terms, JaFaJ sources describe the mechanism as:
Iraqi and Gulf businessmen provide cash in Amman → Al-Khawaldeh and other Brotherhood members deposit the cash into their personal accounts → the money is subsequently transferred or deposited as apparently legitimate individual charitable donations → the Islamic Charity Center receives the funds.
JaFaJ assesses this mechanism as an act of money laundering.
CASH, SUITCASES AND SECRET DONORS
According to JaFaJ sources, Al-Khawaldeh has not merely organized these transactions from a distance. He has personally handled large quantities of cash.
Sources familiar with Brotherhood meetings describe occasions on which Al-Khawaldeh arrived carrying cash in suitcases or briefcases, openly displaying the money and boasting about his ability to obtain financing for the movement.
According to those sources, he has portrayed his fundraising success in religious terms, referring to the money as though it represented “the hand of God” providing resources to the Brotherhood.
JaFaJ sources identify Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood-linked businessmen as among his most important financial sources. Other money has originated with wealthy Gulf and Arab donors whose identities Al-Khawaldeh has kept closely guarded.
Within Brotherhood circles, according to JaFaJ sources, his ability to obtain money has become an important element of his influence.
THE HAMAS CONNECTION
According to information received by JaFaJ, Al-Khawaldeh has repeatedly boasted within Brotherhood circles about obtaining significant donations and helping move money ultimately intended for Hamas.
JaFaJ sources state that he has specifically bragged about securing and facilitating substantial financial support for Hamas before the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel.
The precise final mechanism through which those funds reached Hamas has not been established by JaFaJ. Nonetheless, according to our sources, Al-Khawaldeh has himself spoken about his role in securing money from Arab donors and facilitating its movement through Jordan.
This financial activity, according to JaFaJ’s information, existed alongside his public political role. While serving as Brotherhood spokesman and holding responsibility for its Palestine portfolio, Al-Khawaldeh was publicly advocating support for Hamas and armed “resistance,” while JaFaJ sources say that privately he was helping obtain and move the money supporting those causes.
FROM A RENTED APARTMENT TO A VILLA
JaFaJ sources have also raised questions concerning the dramatic improvement in Al-Khawaldeh’s personal financial circumstances.
People familiar with him describe Al-Khawaldeh as living in a rented apartment in eastern Amman around 2013. Approximately a decade later, sources describe him as owning his own villa and possessing two expensive private vehicles, one used by him and another by his wife.
JaFaJ does not presently possess documentation establishing the source of his personal wealth. The change is nonetheless notable in light of accounts from sources describing his long-standing involvement in handling substantial amounts of cash for Brotherhood fundraising.
MONEY THROUGH JORDANIAN BANKS
According to JaFaJ sources, Al-Khawaldeh has also boasted repeatedly about his ability to move money successfully through Jordanian banks.
The mechanism described to JaFaJ allows cash originating with Iraqi and Gulf businessmen to enter Jordan’s banking system through accounts belonging to Al-Khawaldeh and other Brotherhood members.
Once deposited, the funds can subsequently be transferred to the Islamic Charity Center as apparently legitimate donations from individuals, rather than appearing as large payments originating directly with the businessmen who originally supplied the cash.
JaFaJ assesses that this arrangement creates a financial buffer between the original donor, the individuals depositing the cash and the Brotherhood-linked institution ultimately receiving it.
JaFaJ ASSESSMENT
The election of Muath Al-Khawaldeh therefore represents considerably more than an internal leadership change.
Publicly, Al-Khawaldeh has spent years at the center of the Muslim Brotherhood’s media and political machinery. He became its spokesman in 2015, subsequently headed its Palestine, media and political departments, publicly acknowledged contacts with Hamas leaders abroad, and has openly praised armed “resistance.”
Privately, JaFaJ sources describe another role: the Brotherhood’s money man.
According to JaFaJ’s information, Al-Khawaldeh has collected cash from Iraqi and Gulf businessmen, moved it through personal bank accounts belonging to himself and other Brotherhood members, and then had the money deposited with the Islamic Charity Center as apparently legitimate charitable donations.
JaFaJ sources further maintain that he has helped secure financing ultimately intended for Hamas and has boasted about raising and facilitating such funding.
The same man who spent years publicly demanding political, military and financial support for Hamas has now risen to the leadership of the political organization historically associated with Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood.