Al-Fadel Exchange, headquartered in Damascus, has facilitated millions of dollars in transfers since 2021 to accounts at the U.S.-designated Central Bank of Syria that benefit the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad. Additionally, the U.S.-designated Hizballah terrorist organization — a key ally of the Syrian regime and Iran’s IRGC-QF — has used Al-Fadel Exchange to transfer money from other countries in the region to Syria. The Syrian government and Hizballah collect hard currency in cities outside of Syria and use Al-Fadel Exchange to transfer those funds to the Central Bank of Syria. As of mid-2021, Al-Fadel Exchange also facilitated payments from the Assad regime to U.S.-designated Hizballah financial official, Muhammad Qasim al-Bazzal, in return for shipments of Iranian oil.
Al-Fadel Exchange is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13582 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, the Central Bank of Syria. Al-Fadel Exchange is also being designated pursuant to the Caesar Act for being a foreign person that knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with, the Government of Syria.
Al-Fadel Exchange is owned and managed by three brothers—Fadel Ma’ruf Balwi (Fadel Balwi), Mut’i Ma’ruf Balwi (Mut’i Balwi), and Muhammad Ma’ruf Balwi (Muhammad Balwi). The Balwi brothers were the only individuals authorized by the U.S.-designated Central Bank of Syria to work on behalf of Hizballah. Further, Fadel Balwi and Muhammad Balwi moved billions of Syrian pounds within Syria in 2022 on behalf of the Syrian government.
Fadel Balwi, Mut’i Balwi, and Muhammad Balwi are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13582 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Al-Fadel Exchange. Fadel Balwi, Mut’i Balwi, and Muhammad Balwi are also being designated pursuant to the Caesar Act as foreign persons who knowingly provide significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with, the Government of Syria.
• https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs/topic/1571
Pursuant to the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, non-U.S. persons who knowingly provide significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engage in a significant transaction with the Government of Syria, including the CBoS, or certain other persons sanctioned with respect to Syria, risk exposure to sanctions.
Official Information
It is the policy of the United States that diplomatic and coercive economic means should be utilized to compel the government of Bashar al-Assad to halt its murderous attacks on the Syrian people and to support a transition to a government in Syria that respects the rule of law, human rights, and peaceful co-existence with its neighbors.
