Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning seven senior officials and one entity associated with the Hizballah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH), which was designated by OFAC in 2007. These officials have served in senior management roles for AQAH and have facilitated the evasion of U.S. sanctions, enabling Hizballah’s access to the formal financial system. Today’s action underscores Treasury’s commitment to disrupting Hizballah’s sanctions evasion schemes and supporting efforts by the new Lebanese government to limit the terrorist group’s influence, particularly as entities like AQAH continue to undermine the already fragile Lebanese economy. Today’s action maintains pressure on Hizballah, building on several actions targeting the group’s illicit finance networks involved in financial facilitation, oil sales, and other commercial enterprises. Treasury previously targeted AQAH shadow bankers in 2021, identifying AQAH’s financial director, Ahmad Mohamad Yazbeck (Yazbeck), along with officials Abbas Hassan Gharib (Gharib), Wahid Mahmud Subayti (Subayti), Mostafa Habib Harb (Harb), Ezzat Youssef Akar (Akar), and Hasan Chehada Othman (Othman) for acting on behalf of AQAH to evade sanctions. Treasury sanctioned AQAH Executive Director Adel Mansour (Mansour) in 2022. Husayn al-Shami (al-Shami), who ran AQAH at the time of its designation in 2007, was designated in 2006 for supporting Hizballah. Today’s action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended. The Department of State designated Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 31, 2001. The AQAH officials targeted today serve in critical roles for the organization’s activities in support of Hizballah, and some have been associated with AQAH for over two decades. In addition to their employment with AQAH, several have previously held joint bank accounts at Lebanese financial institutions in coordination with other AQAH affiliates and conducted millions of dollars in transactions that ultimately benefitted, but obscured, Hizballah’s interest. Many of the transactions in these accounts reflected the same pattern as the previously OFAC-designated “shadow bankers” where AQAH officials would conduct mirrored financial activity in AQAH accounts against proxy bank accounts within the formal Lebanese financial system to disguise the movement of money associated with known Hizballah members.

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0189

1995-01-24

US

Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 597

OFAC-horizontal

Terrorism

Blocking Property

Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.

SDN