Alleged Hezbollah financier extradited to U.S. on sanctions evasion charges

A dual Lebanese-Belgian citizen accused by the United States of financing Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been extradited from Romania and faced sanctions evasion and money laundering charges on Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court, prosecutors said.

Mohammad Bazzi, who Washington says has provided millions of dollars to Hezbollah, was arrested in February on charges of covertly selling real estate he owned in Michigan and transferring the funds abroad, violating U.S. sanctions laws.

Bazzi was extradited on Tuesday, and pleaded not guilty in a Wednesday court hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn. He was ordered detained pending trial.

The U.S. Treasury Department placed Bazzi, 58, on its sanctions list in 2018 over his alleged ties to Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization.

Lawyers for Bazzi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors in Brooklyn last week charged another alleged Hezbollah financier, Nazem Ahmad, with evading U.S. sanctions by exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of diamonds and art.

Source: reuters