U.S sanctions former Lebanese ministers for links to Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The U.S Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Tuesday former Lebanese government ministers Youssef Fenianos and Ali Hassan Khalil for “providing material support to Hezbollah and engaging in corruption.”

Fenianos was Lebanon’s Public Works Minister from 2015 until 2020 and is a senior member of Lebanon’s Christian Marada Movement, a group with strong ties to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

Hassan Khalil, meanwhile, served as the Minister of Finance (2014-2020) and Minister of Public Health (2011-2014). He is a close aid of Speaker Nabih Berri, the leader of the Shiite Amal Movement.

“Corruption has run rampant in Lebanon, and Hezbollah has exploited the political system to spread its malign influence,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “The United States stands with the people of Lebanon in their calls for reform and will continue to use its authorities to target those who oppress and exploit them,” he added.

The U.S State Department alleged that Fenianos ensured that Hezbollah-aligned" companies won government bids while receiving thousands of dollars “in exchange for political favors” from Hezbollah in 2015.

It also alleges that he helped Hezbollah gain access to valuable information tied to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which last month found a Hezbollah member guilty of orchestrating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“As Minister of Finance, Khalil was one of the officials Hezbollah leveraged a relationship with for financial gain. In late 2017, shortly before the Lebanese parliamentary elections that would take place in May 2018, Hezbollah leaders, fearing a weakening of their political alliance with the Amal Movement, reached an agreement with Khalil where he was prepared to receive Hezbollah support for his political success,” the statement read.

Hassan Khalil is also alleged to have used his position as Minister of Finance to attempt to have U.S. financial restrictions on Hezbollah eased so that the group can move around funds more easily.

“As of late 2019, Khalil as Finance Minister refused to sign checks payable to government suppliers in an effort to solicit kickbacks,” the statement said. He instead demanded that a percentage of the contracts be paid to him directly, according to the State Department.

U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the move, saying that the “U.S stands with the Lebanese people’s call for reform and will promote accountability for anyone facilitating Hezbollah’s terrorist agenda.”

“Today the U.S. is designating two corrupt former Lebanese ministers who abused their positions to provide material support to Hezbollah,” he tweeted.