🇺🇸❌🇮🇷🇱🇧 — US Department of Treasury designates 10 individuals in a Hizballah cash smuggling network moving up to hundreds of millions of dollars via commercial flights between Lebanon, Türkiye, UAE, and Iran. Hizballah is also re-designated for acting under IRGC-QF direction.
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating 10 individuals that are part of a network responsible for transferring cash to Hizballah.
The network utilizes couriers travelling on commercial airline flights between Lebanon, Turkiye, the UAE, and Iran to move up to hundreds of millions of dollars between jurisdictions, providing an avenue outside the formal financial system for Hizballah to obtain foreign currency and evade sanctions.
OFAC is also re-designating Hizballah for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to the United States’ counterterrorism authority, Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.
The U.S. Department of State designated Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 31, 2001, for having committed, or posing a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
Previously, the U.S. Department of State had designated Hizballah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act on October 8, 1997. OFAC designated the IRGC-QF as an SDGT pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 25, 2007, for providing material support to multiple terrorist organizations, including Hizballah. The U.S. Department of State designated the IRGC-QF as an FTO pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act on April 8, 2019.
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬
- 𝐘𝐮𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐘𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐳 – Turkish businessman; manages courier network; abuses Türkiye-based exchange houses as fronts; provided front companies and bank accounts for IRGC-QF-linked transfers.
- 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐥 𝐈𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐜𝐦𝐚𝐳 – Courier; collects cash from exchange houses.
- 𝐎𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐝𝐞 – Courier; collects cash from exchange houses.
- 𝐕𝐚𝐬𝐟𝐢 𝐀𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐳 – Coordinates courier logistics; also acts as courier.
- 𝐌𝐞𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐤𝐲𝐮𝐳 – Courier; covertly carried cash to Lebanon on commercial flights.
- 𝐌𝐞𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐮𝐫 – Courier; covertly carried cash to Lebanon on commercial flights.
- 𝐅𝐞𝐲𝐲𝐚𝐝 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐡 – Courier; covertly carried cash to Lebanon on commercial flights.
- 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐫 – Courier; covertly carried cash to Lebanon on commercial flights.
- 𝐆𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐲𝐚 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐜𝐢 – Courier; covertly carried cash to Lebanon on commercial flights.
- 𝐄𝐦𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐀𝐲𝐚𝐳 – Courier; covertly carried cash to Lebanon on commercial flights.
𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
- 𝐇𝐢𝐳𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 – Re-designated pursuant to E.O. 13224 for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, the IRGC-QF.
𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬
- Network formerly associated with deceased IRGC-QF finance official Behnam Shahriyari.
- All designations under E.O. 13224, as amended.
- No digital currency addresses, license wind-down periods, or new FAQs specified in this action.
