U.S. moves to disrupt Hezbollah financing operations

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated five individuals and three companies for their involvement in a Lebanon-based sanctions evasion network that supports Hezbollah’s financial operations.

This move, announced Friday, targets key actors allegedly working to funnel funds to the Hezbollah finance team, enabling the group’s continued activities. The action was carried out under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, which focuses on counterterrorism efforts.

“Today’s action underscores Treasury’s determination to expose and disrupt the schemes that fund Hezbollah’s terrorist violence against the Lebanese people and their neighbors,” stated Bradley T. Smith, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Hezbollah was officially designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department on October 8, 1997, and later as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on October 31, 2001. These designations subject the group and its affiliates to severe financial restrictions under U.S. law.

The Treasury’s latest action highlights Washington’s ongoing efforts to isolate Hezbollah financially and disrupt its global support networks.