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Find and Report Hezbollah Transactions, FinCEN Advises Banks

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has listed seven new red flags raised by transactions potentially linked to Hezbollah, a U.S.- and EU-blacklisted Lebanese political and military organization currently engaged in conflict with Israel.

In an 8-page advisory, the bureau directed banks and other financial institutions on Wednesday to more thoroughly review invoices associated with exports of used cars from the U.S. to West Africa that appear overpriced or underpriced, and do the same for invoices linked to shipments of electronics from the U.S. to China or the tri-border region of South America.

Such invoices should especially draw attention if the goods appear unrelated to the counterparty’s usual line of business or involve foreign or domestic branches of Lebanese or Hezbollah-connected financial services companies, according to the advisory.

The bureau promulgated the new red flags three days after the Israeli Air Force launched a bombing campaign targeting offices and gold and cash vaults in suburban Beirut, Tyre and the Beqaa Valley linked to Al-Qard al-Hassan, a lender allegedly controlled by Hezbollah.

Moneylaundering.com may update this coverage as more information becomes available.
Topics : Counterterrorist Financing , Anti-money laundering , International Banking
Source: U.S.: FinCEN
Document Date: October 23, 2024