U.S. Blacklists Individuals, Entities Linked to Hizbullah Martyrs Foundation
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) three Lebanon-based individuals and 12 Lebanon-based entities allegedly linked to Hizbullah’s Martyrs Foundation.
“Specifically, OFAC designated Atlas Holding for being owned or controlled by the Martyrs Foundation, as well as senior Atlas official Kassem Mohamad Ali Bazzi, and ten Atlas-affiliated companies. Jawad Nur-al-Din and Sheikh Yusuf Aasi were also designated, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, for being leaders or officials of the Lebanon-based Martyrs Foundation, which was designated for supporting terrorism in July 2007. Mirath S.A.L., which is owned or controlled by Jawad Nur-al-Din, was also designated today,” the Treasury said in a statement.
“Hizbullah profits from the sale of goods vital to the Lebanese peoples’ health and economy, such as pharmaceuticals and gasoline,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The Trump Administration stands with the Lebanese people, and we are committed to exposing and holding accountable Hizbullah’s terror-funding business schemes,” he added.
Charging that Hizbullah put the Lebanese banking sector at risk through “its deep coordination with Jammal Trust Bank, which was designated as an SDGT in August 2019,” the Treasury said Atlas Holding along with several of its subsidiaries banked freely at Jammal Trust Bank despite their “open affiliation with previously designated Hizbullah entities.”
“In fact, Jammal Trust Bank facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions through the Lebanese financial system on behalf of Atlas Holding and its subsidiaries, and aided Hizbullah officials in evading scrutiny on these accounts from Lebanese banking authorities,” the U.S. Treasury added.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/269527 |