(U.S. Treasury Department) The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned former Lebanese government ministers Yusuf Finyanus and Ali Hassan Khalil, who provided material support to Hizbullah and engaged in corruption. Finyanus, a former Minister of Transportation and Public Works (2016-2020), helped Hizbullah siphon funds from government budgets to ensure that Hizbullah-owned companies won bids for Lebanese government contracts worth millions of dollars. In 2015, Hizbullah gave Finyanus hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for political favors. Finyanus also helped Hizbullah gain access to sensitive legal documents related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that investigated the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Ali Hassan Khalil, a former Minister of Finance (2014-2020), worked to move money from government ministries to Hizbullah-associated institutions in a manner that would avoid U.S. sanctions enforcement. He also refused to sign checks to government suppliers in an effort to solicit kickbacks to be paid to him directly.
2020-09-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive