Hezbollah members parade in Beirut's southern suburbs. (Credit: Joseph Barrak/AFP/File photo)
Mohammad Bazzi, a Lebanese-Belgian dual national, aged 58, was arrested Friday upon his arrival at Bucharest airport, and is set to be extradited to the US state of New York, the Romanian state prosecutor's office announced in a statement.
He is suspected of conspiring to avoid sanctions Washington imposed on him in 2018 "for providing financial support to Hezbollah," a which the US considers a terrorist organization.
Bazzi and another Lebanese man, 78-year-old Talal Chahine, are suspected of inciting US citizens to conduct "unlawful transactions" with the militant Lebanese party, as well as "money laundering."
Each count carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, according to the US statement.
'Bazzi was wrong'
Both Bazzi and Chahine are charged with conspiracy to aid and abet US citizens in conducting unlawful transactions with a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and conspiracy to launder money.
The indictment was handed down Jan. 27, 2023, by a New York State judge.
According to the federal authorities' statement, Bazzi and Chahine conspired to force or induce an individual located in the United States to liquidate their interests in certain real estate assets located in Michigan and covertly transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds to Bazzi and Chahine in Lebanon
As Bazzi is sanctioned by the US Treasury, his assets in the country are frozen and he's forbidden to conduct transactions.
To liquidate his assets he and Chahine attempted to set up several fraudulent transactions in which his identity as a buyer and seller of the property was concealed.
“As alleged, Mohammad Bazzi thought that he could secretly move hundreds of thousands of dollars from the United States to Lebanon without detection by law enforcement. Today’s arrest proves that Bazzi was wrong,” stated New York attorney Breon Peace, as quoted by the press release, adding that "our office is committed to ensuring that sanctions imposed by the US government are respected and that terrorism financiers are starved of funds.”
Bazzi and his accomplice "attempted to provide continued financial assistance to Hezbollah, a foreign terrorist organization responsible for death and destruction," said Daniel J. Kafafian, assistant special agent in charge of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Extradition request
The US intends to request the extradition of Mohammad Bazzi to the State of New York to face the charges set forth in the indictment.
The text states that the man had been designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2018 for assisting in, sponsoring, and providing financial, material, technological support and financial services to Hezbollah.
Mohammad Bazzi is said to be a "key Hezbollah financier who has provided millions of dollars" to the party over the years, "generated from his business activities in Belgium, Lebanon, Iraq and throughout West Africa."
The US has already imposed sanctions on numerous individuals with alleged links to Hezbollah, as well as on senior Lebanese politicians such as Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil and Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil, who are accused of corruption.