US targets sanctions evasion conduits for "major Hezbollah financers"

WASHINGTON, April 24 (KUNA) -- The US Department of Treasury designated on Wednesday two individuals and three entities acting as "conduits for sanctions evasion schemes" for Hezbollah.
The Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) "further targeted the global business operations of Hezbollah" by the designation of these individuals and entities.
The OFAC designated "Belgium-based Wael Bazzi for acting for or on behalf of his father and Hezbollah financier, Mohammad Bazzi," according to a statement by the Department OFAC designated Belgium-based Voltra Transcor Energy BVBA, Belgium-based OFFISCOOP NV and United Kingdom-based BSQRD Limited "for being owned or controlled by Wael Bazzi," the statement said.
OFAC is also adding "Energy Engineers Procurement and Construction as an alias for Global Trading Group NV (GTG), one of Mohammad Bazzi's companies, which was designated in May 2018," it noted.
Additionally, OFAC designated "Lebanon-based Hassan Tabaja for acting for or on behalf of his brother and Hezbollah member and financier, Adham Tabaja." Treasury Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker said in a statement that the Treasury is "relentlessly pursuing Hezbollah's financial facilitators by dismantling two of Hezbollah's most important financial networks." "As Hezbollah continues to attempt to obscure its activities by using seemingly legitimate businesses, we will continue to take action against the front persons who hide the movement of money, including the relatives of designated terrorists," she stressed.
She added that by targeting Tabaja and Bazzi and their European-based companies, "this Administration is continuing to disrupt all avenues of financial support relied upon by Hezbollah." The statement stressed today's designation of the Tabaja and Bazzi and his companies "builds on the State Department's April 22, 2019, announcement of a Rewards for Justice (RFJ) reward offer for information leading to the disruption of Hezbollah's financial mechanisms." "Today's action also builds on the unprecedented number of designations taken in 2018 exposing Hezbollah's terrorist support networks and pervasive use of seemingly legitimate businesses to launder money and foment regional conflict," the statement noted. (end) si.gb