A Lebanese court sentenced Lebanese businessman Qassem Tajeddine to five years in prison and a $ 50 million fine.
Tajeddine was convicted by circumventing US sanctions imposed on him as a major financial contributor to Hezbollah, the US Justice Department said on Thursday.
Tajeddine, 63, was arrested in Morocco on March 12, 2017, at the request of the US authorities and handed over to the United States. He was charged with a federal court in Washington on 24 of the same month, accused of circumventing US sanctions against “terrorist” groups, and money laundering.
In May 2009, Tajuddin, who works in the raw materials trade in the Middle East and Africa, was considered an important financial contributor to a “terrorist organization” because of his support for Hezbollah, which the United States has designated a “terrorist” organization since 1997.
In December 2010, the US imposed sanctions on a business network owned or managed by Tajeddine and his brothers in Gambia, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the British Virgin Islands.
US Assistant Secretary of Justice Bryan Benzkovski said that the prison sentence and the $ 50 million fine in this case are just the latest examples of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle Hezbollah and its support networks. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
