US sanctions ‘courier network’ over Hezbollah cash-smuggling
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Thursday sanctions against 10 individuals it said are part of a network that moved up to “hundreds of millions of dollars” in cash to Hezbollah, including through commercial airline flights across the Middle East.
The department alleges that the “courier network” operates between Lebanon, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Iran to move cash outside the formal financial system, allowing Hezbollah to obtain foreign currency and evade sanctions.
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Treasury identified Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz as the network’s manager. It said he uses certain Turkey-based exchange houses as “fronts for his business dealings” and provides front companies and bank accounts for money transfers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
The department said couriers collect cash from the exchange houses and covertly transport it on commercial flights, including to Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.
The other individuals sanctioned are Halil Ibrahim Kacmaz, Onder Dede, Vasfi Akyuz, Mehmet Akyuz, Mehmet Acur, Feyyad Karasalih, Masoud Mousafar, Gulay Kaya Savci and Emrah Ayaz, according to Treasury.
Treasury also redesignated Hezbollah under a counterterrorism executive order, citing the group’s relationship with the IRGC-Quds Force and its role in directing Hezbollah’s activities.
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The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 10 individuals on Thursday for their alleged involvement in a cash-smuggling network that moved “hundreds of millions of dollars” to Hezbollah. This “courier network” reportedly operated between Lebanon, Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, using commercial flights to transport cash outside formal financial systems. Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz was identified as the network's manager, allegedly using Turkish exchange houses as fronts and providing companies and bank accounts for transfers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. Couriers collected cash from these exchange houses and covertly transported it, including to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Treasury also redesignated Hezbollah under a counterterrorism executive order, citing its relationship with the IRGC-Quds Force.
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