U.S. Seizes $150M in Hezbollah-Linked Funds
U.S. authorities announced the seizure of $150 million allegedly linked to a money-laundering scheme by the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.
The Lebanese Canadian Bank and other unidentified institutions sent nearly $330 million to the United States between 2007 and 2011 to finance the purchase of used cars that were shipped to West Africa, according to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Money from the sale of the cars was then routed to Lebanon, where it was handed over to Hezbollah, according to the attorney’s office.
Monday’s seizure concerns a December 2011 money laundering and forfeiture complaint filed in U.S. federal court in New York that targeted the bank and two other Lebanese financial institutions with alleged ties to Hezbollah.
“As we alleged last year, the Lebanese Canadian Bank played a key role in facilitating money laundering for Hezbollah controlled organizations across the globe,” Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart said in a statement.
A Hezbollah official refuted the charges, saying they were “another attempt to tarnish the image of the resistance in Lebanon,” but U.S. prosecutors said there was no doubt about the institutions’ ties to the militant outfit, AFP reported.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
