The U.S. has announced new sanctions against individuals who have helped fund Hezbollah and a branch of Iran‘s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) would designate members of Lebanon- and Kuwait-based financial conduits that fund Hezbollah, the Treasury Department said in a press release on Friday.
Members of an international network of financial facilitators that provide financial assistance to Hezbollah and Iran‘s Quds Force are also to be targeted for sanctions, according to the Treasury.
“Together, these networks have laundered tens of millions of dollars through regional financial systems and conducted currency exchange operations and trades in gold and electronics for the benefit of both Hizballah and the IRGC-QF,” the department said.
“Hizballah, with the support of the IRGC-QF, uses the revenues generated by these networks to fund terrorist activities, as well as to perpetuate instability in Lebanon and throughout the region.”
Designated individuals include China-based businessman Morteza Minaye Hashemi and two Chinese nationals that have helped him and served as straw owners for his companies, which he has used to fund the Quds Force, the Treasury stated.
The Chinese nationals are Yan Su Xuan and Song Jing.
The new sanctions include the seizure of U.S.-based property and the prohibition of all transactions with designated individuals.
Hezbollah and the IRGC are both listed as terrorist organizations by the U.S. The IRGC Quds Force is responsible for secret military operations outside Iran.
