US and GCC sanction Hezbollah 'financial institutions and senior officials'
The member states of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC)
on Tuesday announced joint designations targeting "multiple key components of Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure, including five entities and 16 individuals," the U.S. Treasury said.
The TFTC comprises all six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE -- and the United States.
The targets include major Hezbollah institutions Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH) and Bayt al-Mal, as well as their senior leaders.
"These coordinated actions underscore TFTC members’ shared commitment to disrupting Hezbollah’s ability to exploit the international financial system. All targets announced today were previously designated by the United States," the Treasury said in a statement.
The TFTC conducts joint actions, such as sanctions designations, exchanges actionable information on "terrorist financing networks," and builds member capacity to counter "terrorist networks that threaten security and stability."
"The networks designated by TFTC today threaten regional stability, international security, mutual interests, and global trade. By restricting Hezbollah’s access to funding, TFTC members are working to protect the integrity of the international financial system, support the Lebanese people, and counter terror networks," the statement said.
This marks the third TFTC designation action under the current U.S. administration and the ninth since the center was created under U.S. President Donald Trump in May 2017.
The statement said Al-Qard Al-Hassan "masquerades as a non-governmental organization (NGO) under the cover of a Ministry of Interior-granted NGO license."
"However, it provides financial services similar to a bank, far beyond anything disclosed in its original registration documents, and in practice illicitly moves funds through shell accounts and facilitators. Hezbollah uses AQAH to facilitate its destabilizing militant activities, undermining the Lebanese people’s ability to rebuild while enabling the group’s own interests," the statement said.
"By hoarding hard currency that is desperately needed by the Lebanese economy, AQAH allows Hezbollah to build its own support base and compromise the stability of the Lebanese state," it added.
Bayt al-Mal meanwhile functions as "Hezbollah’s unofficial treasury, holding and investing its assets and serving as intermediaries between the terrorist group and mainstream banks," the Treasury charged.
Bayt al-Mal operates under "the direct supervision of the Hezbollah Secretary General. As one of Hezbollah's main financial bodies, Bayt al-Mal serves as a bank, creditor, and investment arm for Hezbollah," the Treasury said.
It identified the designated individuals as Ibrahim Ali Daher, Adel Mohammad Mansour, Ahmad Mohamed Yazbeck, Samer Hasan Fawaz, Ali Mohamad Karnib, Abbas Hassan Gharib, Mustafa Habib Harb, Ezzat Youssef Akar, Hasan Chehadeh Othman, Nehme Ahmad Jamil, Issa Hussein Kassir, Ali Ahmad Krisht, Naser Hasan Neser,
Wahid Mahmud Subayti, Mohammed Suleiman Badir and Imad Mohamad Bezz.
The other three targeted entities are Al-Khobara, Tashilat SARL, and
Auditors for Accounting and Auditing.
Source: Naharnet
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