TITLE: United States Treasury Designates Global Network Financing Hizballah
BODY:
On March 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 individuals and entities as part of a coordinated sanctions action targeting a global financial network that has diverted more than $100 million to Hizballah since 2020.
The network is led by Alaa Hassan Hamieh, a Hizballah financier and former Vice President of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL). Operating through family members and close associates across Lebanon, Syria, Poland, Slovenia, Qatar, and Canada, the network has engaged in money laundering, procurement schemes, and sanctions evasion to channel funds to Hizballah's finance team. Key network members include Syrian gray-arms dealer Bahaa Addin Hashem, Hizballah member Mohamad Jamil Salami, and Qatar-based Raoof Fadel. The network operated multiple companies, including Seven Seas entities in Lebanon and Canada, and Calllync telecommunications companies across multiple jurisdictions.
Notably, Alaa Hamieh exploited his government position in early 2025 to personally receive millions of dollars for Hizballah-associated projects under an Iraq-Lebanon trade agreement for Lebanese reconstruction. Following the appointment of a new IDAL board in December 2025, Alaa Hamieh is no longer affiliated with the authority.
The designations are made pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, under counterterrorism authority. All property and interests in property of the designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting transactions involving designated entities unless authorised by OFAC. Violations may result in civil or criminal penalties. Foreign financial institutions engaging in significant transactions with designated persons risk secondary sanctions, including restrictions on maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States.
REFERENCES:
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control. "Treasury Sanctions Global Network Diverting Funds to Benefit Hizballah." March 20, 2026. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2107