Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is facing fresh scrutiny after records revealed that his father serves on the board of an Islamic charity with a controversial history involving federal investigations, sanctions violations and alleged financial connections to Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Imam Dr. Mohammed El-Sayed, the candidate’s father, is listed as a board member of Life for Relief and Development, a Michigan-based nonprofit that previously came under federal scrutiny over money transferred into Iraq.
Tax records indicate the elder El-Sayed has been associated with the organization since at least 2020, according to the New York Post.
The charity’s troubled history stretches back more than two decades.
In 2004, American military personnel and FBI investigators raided the organization’s facilities in Baghdad amid suspicions involving assistance to Iraqi insurgents.
Authorities reportedly seized 20 boxes of materials and 12 computers during the operation, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Federal investigators subsequently examined allegations that the organization had transferred money from the United States through Jordan into Iraq during Hussein’s rule.
The Treasury Department alleged that senior leadership knew about and directed the transactions.
“LRD’s highest management levels—i.e., its President—knew of the conduct giving rise to the apparent violations and directed the funds transfers to Iraq via Jordan,” the government stated.
The organization eventually reached a $780,000 settlement with federal authorities, resolving the sanctions matter in 2014.
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The settlement concerned alleged violations of financial restrictions, and the documents cited do not establish that Mohammed El-Sayed participated in the transactions.
His documented involvement with the organization began years after those events.
Another figure connected to the nonprofit, former public relations coordinator Muthanna al-Hanooti, faced federal charges over his work involving Hussein’s government.
Al-Hanooti pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after being accused of acting as an unregistered agent for the Iraqi regime.
Federal investigators also scrutinized the charity’s relationships with other organizations.
In 2006, FBI agents raided the Michigan-based nonprofit, and its then-CEO was indicted the following year on allegations involving money laundering and sanctions violations.
Investigators seized documents concerning the Islamic African Relief Agency, an organization subsequently linked by federal authorities to support for al Qaeda.
Abdul El-Sayed’s biological mother, Fatten Fathy Elkomy, briefly worked for that separate organization, according to the report.
The New York Post also previously reported that Life for Relief and Development transferred funds to an entity investigators later identified as a Hamas operation in Jordan.
Those historical allegations have renewed attention on the charity’s leadership as Abdul El-Sayed campaigns for a U.S. Senate seat.
The Washington Free Beacon first reported Mohammed El-Sayed’s connection to the organization.
Records also indicate that Abdul El-Sayed’s father-in-law, Jukaku Tayeb, previously served on the nonprofit’s board.
However, the reported associations do not establish that the Senate candidate personally participated in any of the charity’s activities or knew about the historical allegations.
There is also no allegation in the supplied records that Mohammed El-Sayed personally committed a crime.
The revelations arrive during a closely contested Michigan Senate race between El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers.
According to the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate cited in the report, El-Sayed held a 3.2-percentage-point advantage over Rogers.
The New York Post contacted both El-Sayed’s campaign and Life for Relief and Development for comment.
With Election Day approaching, the nonprofit’s federal enforcement history has become a new subject of attention surrounding the Democratic nominee’s family connections.
