The Biden administration on Wednesday issued sanctions on a Lebanese network accused of smuggling oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to help fund the Hezbollah terrorist organization, Reuters reported. The sanctions target three people, five companies and two vessels that the US Treasury Department said were overseen by a senior leader of Hezbollah's finance team and used profits from illicit LPG shipments to Syria to aid generate revenue for the group. Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement that Hezbollah "continues to launch rockets into Israel and fuel regional instability, choosing to prioritize funding violence over taking care of the people it claims to care about, including the tens of thousands displaced in southern Lebanon." The United States regularly sanctions Lebanese officials and entities linked to Hezbollah. Last week, US prosecutors said that Lebanese-Belgian dual citizen Mohammad Bazzi, accused by the US of financing Hezbollah, is expected to plead guilty in a case involving sanctions evasion and money laundering conspiracies. Related articles: US targets Russia network aiding Houthis with arms, grain Combat Antisemitism Movement calls for US sanctions on Albanese US sanctions Hezbollah finance network US sanctions three Iranian intelligence officers Bazzi last year pleaded not guilty to three felony charges, including attempting to conduct transactions with a sanctioned terrorist group. In 2018, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Bazzi over his alleged ties to Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization.
