Washington d.c.: Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the designation of 10 individuals involved in a network responsible for transferring cash to Hizballah. This network uses couriers on commercial airline flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE, and Iran to transport up to hundreds of millions of dollars, circumventing the formal financial system to provide Hizballah with foreign currency and evade sanctions. OFAC has also re-designated Hizballah for its alignment with the Iranian regime under the control of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, this action is part of the United States' counterterrorism efforts under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. Hizballah was previously designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. Department of State on October 31, 2001, and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997. The IRGC-QF has also been designated as an SDGT since October 25, 2007, for supporting multiple terrorist organizations, including Hizballah.
Hizballah's courier network, managed by Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz, exploits financing schemes such as oil smuggling and bulk cash smuggling. Yilmaz manages couriers who transport cash between regional countries and Hizballah's base in Lebanon. He uses Turkey-based exchange houses as fronts for financial transactions connected to the IRGC-QF. Yilmaz's associates, including couriers Halil Ibrahim Kacmaz and Onder Dede, are involved in collecting cash, while Vasfi Akyuz coordinates logistics and participates as a courier.
The individuals designated today, including Yilmaz, Kacmaz, and Dede, are targeted for materially assisting or providing support to the IRGC-QF or Hizballah under E.O. 13224. Hizballah is being re-designated due to the IRGC-QF's coordination of its activities and influence over its political decisions.
The sanctions entail blocking all property and interests of the designated individuals within the U.S. or under the control of U.S. persons. U.S. regulations generally prohibit transactions involving the property of designated individuals unless authorized by OFAC. Violations of these sanctions may result in civil or criminal penalties. Financial institutions and individuals risk exposure to sanctions by engaging with designated individuals, and non-U.S. persons are prohibited from facilitating violations of U.S. sanctions.
Engaging with designated individuals may lead to secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions. OFAC can impose restrictions on U.S. accounts of foreign banks conducting significant transactions for designated persons. The purpose of these sanctions is to induce a change in behavior rather than to punish.