The United States Treasury Department targeted a Hezbollah financing network with fresh sanctions on Friday, after its primary figures and front business tried to avert formerly leveled sanctions by moving control of the business to household and partners.
The Lebanese United Group, Securol Glass Curtains, Ravee SARL, and 5 people were approved by the Treasury Workplace of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for belonging to a Hezbollah network connected by household to departed basic secretary Hassan Nasrallah.
The financing network centers around Muhammad Qasir, the bro of Nasrallah’s son-in-law Hassan Qasir. Qasir was supposedly eliminated by the IAF in a 2024 Beirut airstrike, and Nasrallah’s son-in-law was supposedly eliminated in a Damascus airstrike a day later on.
Qasir was approved in 2018 for functioning as a channel for funds from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force (QF) to Hezbollah, the very same year that another other essential figure to the network, Muhammad Qasim al-Bazzal, was approved.
Al-Bazzal, the son-in-law of Qasir, ran a number of business consisting of the Talaqi Group, which collaborated IRGC-linked oil deliveries. Al-Bazzal established Talaqi with his partner Fatimah ‘Abdallah Ayyub, who is likewise the basic supervisor of Alumix. Talaqi partnered with Alumix for aluminum deliveries to Iran, and Ayyub supplied payment details to Talaqi.
Hezbollah front business Alumix and Talaqi were approved due to their control by Al-Bazzal and status, however because 2019 has actually looked for to eliminate himself from business files that list him as an owner and investor, which OFAC presumed to be an effort to avert sanctions.
Control of Taliqi and 2 other groups was moved to Al-Bazzal’s bro, Rashid Qasim al-Bazzal, who was approved on Friday. While his bro manages the everyday operations, Muhammad Qasim al-Bazzal remains in charge of relations with Hezbollah.
Ayyub was likewise approved on Friday for her participation in Hezbollah industrial tasks, consisting of Talaqi. The Lebanese United Group remained in part managed by Ayyub and 2 other approved people, Hawra’ ‘Abdallah Ayyub and Mahasin Mahmud Murtada.
Bot Abdallah Ayyubs, Murtada, along with another individual approved Friday, Jamil Mohamad Khafaja, are the co-owners of Alumnix. Securol Glass Curtains shares the very same address as Alumnix, which is owned by Khafaja.
Murtada was the partner of the now-deceased Hezbollah royal Muhammad Qasir. OFAC stated that even previous to Qasir’s death, she held impact over problems relating to Hezbollah financial resources and weapons smuggling, and supposedly holds ownership of a number of other business besides Alumnnix that are connected with Hezbollah companies.
” Today’s action highlights Treasury’s decision to expose and interrupt the plans that money Hizballah’s terrorist violence versus the Lebanese individuals and their next-door neighbors,” Treasury Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Performing Under Secretary Bradley Smith stated in a Friday declaration.” These evasion networks reinforce Iran and its proxy Hizballah and weaken the brave efforts of the Lebanese individuals to construct a Lebanon for all its people.”
Optimum pressure on Iran
OFAC stated that the efforts versus the Hezbollah network and its incredibly elusive maneuvers belonged to its dedication to the February 4 executive order to enforce optimal pressure on Iran to avoid it from getting nuclear weapons and to counter its malign impact.
The order requires the treasury to enforce sanctions and other steps to reject the Islamic program and terrorist proxies like Hezbollah access to income.
The American Jewish Committee thanked the United States federal government for its efforts in a Monday X post.
.