Hizballah Financial Network in the Tri-Border Area

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The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Hizballah, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Based in Lebanon, Hizballah has maintained a presence in the Western Hemisphere since the 1980s, particularly in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The group is responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks in the Western Hemisphere, including the July 18, 1994 bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Aid Society. Hizballah was also implicated, along with Iran, in the 1992 attacks on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina as well as the 1994 bombing of Alas Chiricanas flight 00901 in Colón, Panama.

In the TBA, Hizballah members, supporters, and facilitators are involved in large-scale revenue-generating schemes, including trade-based money laundering, narcotics trafficking, charcoal and oil smuggling, illicit diamond trade, bulk cash smuggling, smuggling of cigarettes and luxury goods, document forgery, and the counterfeiting of U.S. dollars. They also generate revenue from commercial activities across Latin America, including construction, import/export trade, and real estate sales.

Hizballah’s financiers and facilitators in the TBA have multinational networks that generate millions of dollars in revenue for Hizballah in the Western Hemisphere. Many of these individuals also have organized fundraising activities and transferred the proceeds from the TBA to Hizballah in the Middle East.

The reward offer seeks information leading to the disruption of Hizballah’s financial mechanisms, including:

• Significant sources of revenue for Hizballah,
• Financial contributions by donors and financial facilitators to Hizballah,
• Significant transactions by financial institutions and exchange houses benefiting Hizballah,
• Businesses or investments owned or controlled by Hizballah or its financiers,
• International activity by front companies tied to Hizballah, engaged in financial transactions on its behalf,
• Criminal schemes involving Hizballah members and supporters, who are financially benefiting the organization,
• Illicit financial schemes of Hizballah,
• Business between formal financial institutions and Hizballah,
• Transfers of funding and material by Hizballah to its terrorist and militia proxies and partners, or
• Facilitation of the transactions of Hizballah by financial institutions or exchange houses.

On October 8, 1997, the Department of State designated Hizballah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. Later, on October 31, 2001, the Department of State designated Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended. As a result, all of Hizballah’s property, and interests in property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with Hizballah. It is a crime to knowingly provide, or to attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to Hizballah.