The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions against six individuals and seven entities tied to Hezbollah on Friday in an effort to cripple the terrorist organization’s business operations.
The six individuals targeted by OFAC sanctions, all based in Lebanon, reportedly acted on behalf of Adham Tabaja, a Hezbollah member and financier. Sanctions were also imposed on entities based in Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia, and Lebanon that are owned or controlled by Ali Muhammad Qansu.
In announcing the sanctions, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Hezbollah — also referred to as Hizballah — is responsible for the death of hundreds of Americans.
“It is also Iran’s primary proxy used to undermine legitimate Arab governments across the Middle East,” Mnuchin said. “The administration is determined to expose and disrupt Hizballah’s networks, including those across the Middle East and West Africa, used to fund their illicit operations.”
Individuals and entities sanctioned by OFAC are also subject to secondary sanctions imposed under the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015.
“The Treasury Department will continue to sever Hizballah from the international financial system, and we will be relentless in identifying, exposing and dismantling Hizballah’s financial support networks globally,” Mnunchin said.