(WASHINGTON, DC) — Three Lebanese men and their businesses were blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury on Wednesday for their alleged ties to a “key Hezbollah support network.”
The Treasury Department froze all assets of the three men under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibited Americans from doing business with them.
A U.S. statement said the actions “underscore the direct ties between Hezbollah’s commercial and terrorist activities, as well as the group’s continued exploitation of the legitimate commercial sector for financial, organizational and material support.”
The Lebanese men were identified as Adham Tabaja and his company, Al Inmaa Group; Kassem Hejeij, a businessman who allegedly arranged financial service access for Hezbollah; and Husayn Ali Faour and his company, Car Care Center.
“Hezbollah is responsible for perpetrating terrorism and fomenting instability worldwide,” said Adam Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “Hezballah is using so-called legitimate businesses to fund, equip, and organize these subversive activities.”
The Treasury said Faour is a member of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad, which worked closely with Tabaja to secure construction projects in Iraq and Lebanon. The U.S. also said Faour’s car company helped supply Hezbollah with transportation.
Tabaja’s company Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting has been one of the largest and most successful real estate businesses in Lebanon, according to the Treasury’s statement.
The U.S. said the company has been used by Hezbollah as an “investment mechanism,” including creating a “construction monopoly” in the Dahieh section of Beirut.
