The US Treasury announced on Tuesday that it was imposing sanctions on five financial entities and 16 individuals related to Hezbollah’s financial operations in the latest escalation aimed at curbing the Iran-backed group’s sources of funding.
The targets include major Hezbollah institutions Al-Qard Al-Hassan and Bayt al-Mal, as well as their senior leaders. “These coordinated actions underscore Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (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,” said a Treasury statement.
The networks designated on Tuesday “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,” it added.
“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,” it continued.
“Hezbollah uses Al-Qard Al-Hassan to facilitate its destabilizing militant activities, undermining the Lebanese people’s ability to rebuild while enabling the group’s own interests,” it stressed.
“By hoarding hard currency that is desperately needed by the Lebanese economy, Al-Qard Al-Hassan allows Hezbollah to build its own support base and compromise the stability of the Lebanese state.”
“Bayt al-Mal functions as Hezbollah’s unofficial treasury, holding and investing its assets and serving as intermediaries between the terrorist group and mainstream banks,” added the statement.
“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 sanctions were issued after Lebanon and Israel reached last week a “framework agreement”, with US mediation, aimed at restoring Lebanon’s sovereignty and disarming Hezbollah and dismantling its infrastructure.
American administration officials had said that protecting the agreement demands not only security arrangements on the ground, but increasing pressure on networks that use civilian fronts to try to empower Hezbollah or obstruct the implementation of the agreement.
Commenting on the new sanctions, an official source in the administration told Asharq Al-Awsat that they send a strong message to Hezbollah that the time of benefitting from unofficial funding is over.
They also send a message to Lebanese authorities that any leniency in dealing with illicit financial networks will be met with even stronger US pressure, it added.
The targeted individuals include Ibrahim Ali Daher, “the Chief of Hezbollah’s Central Finance Unit, which oversees Hezbollah’s overall budget and spending, including the group’s funding of its terrorist operations inside and outside Lebanon.”
The Central Finance unit receives Hezbollah’s worldwide income and is responsible for managing and auditing the budgets of all Hezbollah units and departments, including coordinating the payment of all Hezbollah members, said the Treasury.
Daher and the Central Finance Unit operate within the group’s Executive Council and with direction from the Hezbollah Secretary-General on where to distribute funds. In this capacity, Daher has been a key figure in Hezbollah's financial infrastructure for well over a decade and a half.
Adel Mohamad Mansour is the Executive Director of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a position that he has held for years. In addition to his role within Al-Qard Al-Hassan, Mansour has used his personal bank accounts to conduct transactions with various Hezbollah institutions.
Ahmad Mohamad Yazbeck is Al-Qard Al-Hassan's financial director. Yazbeck, along with Abbas Hassan Gharib, Mustafa Habib Harb, Ezzat Youssef Akar, and Hasan Chehadeh Othman have maintained joint bank accounts in Lebanese banks that has allowed them to transfer more than $500 million within the formal financial system for over a decade, despite existing sanctions against Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
Other targeted individuals include 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, Wahid Mahmud Subayti, Mohammed Suleiman Badir and Imad Mohamad Bezz. They were designated for their various roles in Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
Naser Hasan Neser, who managed Auditors for Accounting and Auditing, was also targeted for reporting to senior Hezbollah Executive Council and Central Finance Unit officials, including Daher, about the activities of Auditors.
