By Abisola THOMPSON
U.S. has sanctioned Lebanese national Kassem Chams’s money laundering organisation, Chams Exchange, for providing services to Hezbollah and drug kingpins.
The U.S. Treasury under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker said this in a statement on Thursday.
“Kassem Chams and his international money laundering network moved tens of millions of dollars a month in illicit narcotics proceeds on behalf of drug kingpins and facilitate money movements for Hezballah,’’ Mandelker said in the statement.
“We are targeting the financial infrastructure of these narcotics traffickers as part of this administration’s unprecedented campaign to prevent Hezballah and its global terror affiliates from profiting off violence, corruption, and the drug trade.’’
Chams has been accused of laundering money to and from Australia, Colombia, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Spain, Venezuela, France, Brazil, and the U.S., the statement said.
Cham’s has also laundered money for designated narcotics traffickers like the Colombian criminal group La Oficina De Envigado and Lebanese drug money launderer Ayman Said Joumaa, the release added.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah, established in the 1980s, is a paramilitary and political organisation originating in Lebanon’s Shiite population.
The group initially aimed to end Israel’s occupation of Southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s military wing is also currently active in Syria, where it is fighting on behalf of the government of President Bashar Assad.
Washington has been supporting Israel in accusing Hamas and Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields and exploiting infrastructure as a cover-up for their offensive activities.
The U.S. has designated both groups as terrorist organisations.====Sputnik
