Argentina freezes assets of suspected Hezbollah fundraising network
South American country cuts off cash to group known as the 'Triple Frontier', after an investigation into criminal actions
In a first, Argentina has frozen the assets of a suspected Hezbollah fundraising network in the area known as the Triple Frontier with Brazil and Paraguay.
The Financial Information Unit of Argentina investigated possible criminal actions by Lebanese citizens living in the country that could be involved in money laundering and financing terrorist acts.
Hezbollah has been linked to the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29, and the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85.
The investigation into the Barakat Group, also known as the Barakat Clan — a criminal organisation linked to Hezbollah led by Assad Ahmad Barakat — resulted in an administrative order freezing the assets and money of its members under the national criminal code related to financing terrorism.
This is the first time that one of the three governments has frozen assets and funds from a Hezbollah-linked organisation based in the Triple Frontier.
The Financial Information Unit identified at least 14 people linked to the Barakat Clan who registered multiple crossings to Argentina, mainly through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in the Misiones province. Once in Argentina, the clan members would cash in charges at a casino in Iguazú exceeding £7.5m ($10 m) without declaring either the income nor the discharge of funds when crossing the border.
“In relation to this illegal act, it is suspected that it would raise funds for the Lebanese Hezbollah organisation,” the government agency wrote. The accounts were frozen on Wednesday, according to the statement.
According to a Financial Information Unit statement issued Friday, the Barakat Clan is involved in smuggling, falsifying of money and documents, extortion, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering and terrorist financing.
The Triple Frontier often is mentioned as a place linked to Hezbollah and the Barakat group, and has been investigated over the past two decades as a source of money for Hezbollah and other groups’ activities related to terrorism.
Barakat, along with others who operate in the tri-border area, has been designated a terrorist by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, of the Treasury Department of the United States, which means that his assets are frozen there as well and that he is unable to operate financially in the U.S.
Argentina is home to a large Lebanese expatriate community and U.S. authorities suspect groups in that community of raising funds through organised crime to support the Iranian-backed terror organisation. In 2006, the U.S. Treasury targeted the same fundraising network.
Earlier this year, the U.S. and Argentina agreed to work together to cut off Hezbollah funding networks and money laundering financing terrorism across Latin America.
Argentina freezes assets of suspected Hezbollah fundraising network
In a first, Argentina has frozen the assets of a suspected Hezbollah fundraising network in the area known as the Triple Frontier with Brazil and Paraguay.
The Financial Information Unit of Argentina investigated possible criminal actions by Lebanese citizens living in the country that could be involved in money laundering and financing terrorist acts.
Hezbollah has been linked to the 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29, and the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85.
The investigation into the Barakat Group, also known as the Barakat Clan — a criminal organisation linked to Hezbollah led by Assad Ahmad Barakat — resulted in an administrative order freezing the assets and money of its members under the national criminal code related to financing terrorism.
This is the first time that one of the three governments has frozen assets and funds from a Hezbollah-linked organisation based in the Triple Frontier.
The Financial Information Unit identified at least 14 people linked to the Barakat Clan who registered multiple crossings to Argentina, mainly through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in the Misiones province. Once in Argentina, the clan members would cash in charges at a casino in Iguazú exceeding £7.5m ($10 m) without declaring either the income nor the discharge of funds when crossing the border.
“In relation to this illegal act, it is suspected that it would raise funds for the Lebanese Hezbollah organisation,” the government agency wrote. The accounts were frozen on Wednesday, according to the statement.
According to a Financial Information Unit statement issued Friday, the Barakat Clan is involved in smuggling, falsifying of money and documents, extortion, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering and terrorist financing.
The Triple Frontier often is mentioned as a place linked to Hezbollah and the Barakat group, and has been investigated over the past two decades as a source of money for Hezbollah and other groups’ activities related to terrorism.
Barakat, along with others who operate in the tri-border area, has been designated a terrorist by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, of the Treasury Department of the United States, which means that his assets are frozen there as well and that he is unable to operate financially in the U.S.
Argentina is home to a large Lebanese expatriate community and U.S. authorities suspect groups in that community of raising funds through organised crime to support the Iranian-backed terror organisation. In 2006, the U.S. Treasury targeted the same fundraising network.
Earlier this year, the U.S. and Argentina agreed to work together to cut off Hezbollah funding networks and money laundering financing terrorism across Latin America.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
