Hizbullah tied to ‘massive laundering’ of South American drug money through U.S.

Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Hizbullah is using U.S. banks and other financial institutions to launder hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal drug revenue. Officials said the revenue stems from trafficking in South America and is funneled to purchase cars in the United States for shipment to Africa.

lebcanbank — Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) faces U.S. Treasury Department accusations of involvement in money laundering. / Reuters / Cynthia Karam

“It puts into stark relief the nexus between narcotics trafficking and terrorism,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

On Dec. 15, federal authorities filed a complaint of a “massive international scheme” in which Hizbullah-linked banks laundered drug money through the United States.

The complaint, filed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Justice Department, charged that Hizbullah was buying used cars in the U.S. for transport to and sale in West Africa, mostly Benin.

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Hizbullah, Hizbullah tied to ‘massive laundering’ of South American drug money through U.S.

Hizbullah tied to ‘massive laundering’ of South American drug money through U.S. added by World Tribune on December 26, 2011
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