Ahmad Abdallah is a Hizballah official and an active member of Hizballah’s global financial network who has supported Hizballah for decades, carrying out extensive commercial activities in various countries where the profits are transferred to Hizballah. He coordinates business activities and budgets with sanctioned senior Hizballah financial facilitators such as Muhammad Qasir and Muhammad Qasim al-Bazzal. In addition to the involvement of Muhammad Qasir and Muhammad Qasim al-Bazzal, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials have helped to facilitate financial transfers for Ahmad Abdallah’s businesses, many of which are located in Iraq and benefit Hizballah.
Ahmad Abdallah has worked with Muhammad Qasir to pursue a business plan together to finance businesses and generate funding for Hizballah. Ahmad Abdallah has established a multitude of businesses including medical equipment factories, insurance companies, real estate, and construction companies, which funnel at least a portion of their profits to Hizballah. Ahmad Abdallah pursued the establishment of food companies such as Al Moukhtar Products Co. SARL, which is designated today, because he perceived those sectors as less likely to be targets of sanctions. Abdallah also used his senior employees and relatives to establish new businesses throughout the Middle East on behalf of Hizballah.
In addition to his business ventures where profits were used to benefit Hizballah, Ahmad Abdallah also brokered meetings with senior businessmen and politicians in Lebanon on Hizballah’s behalf. Ahmad Abdallah has also assisted Hizballah in recovering Adham Tabaja’s frozen funds after he was designated in 2015.
Ahmad Jalal Reda Abdallah is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Hizballah.
On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (68 FR 34196, June 6, 2003 (“the Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism” (66 FR 49079, September 25, 2001). OFAC has amended the Regulations on several occasions.
On September 9, 2019, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706) (IEEPA) and the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), issued E.O. 13886, “Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism” (84 FR 48041, September 12, 2019), effective September 10, 2019. In E.O. 13886, the President, finding it necessary to consolidate and enhance sanctions to combat acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism by foreign terrorists, terminated the national emergency declared in E.O. 12947 of January 23, 1995, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (60 FR 5079, January 25, 1995), and revoked E.O. 12947, as amended by E.O. 13099 of August 20, 1998, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (63 FR 45167, August 25, 1998). In addition, the President amended E.O. 13224, in order to build upon initial steps taken in E.O. 12947, to further strengthen and consolidate sanctions to combat the continuing threat posed by international terrorism, and in order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in E.O. 13224, with respect to the continuing and immediate threat of grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, which include acts of terrorism that threaten the Middle East peace process.
Section 1 of E.O. 13886 replaces in its entirety section 1 of E.O. 13224, which had been amended by a number of prior Executive orders (E.O. 13224, as amended by all such authorities, is referred to herein as “amended E.O. 13224”), but does not amend the Annex to E.O. 13224, which was previously amended by E.O. 13268 of July 2, 2002, “Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Taliban and Amendment of Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001” (67 FR 44751, July 3, 2002) (“amended Annex to E.O. 13224”).
