UK, US sanction art and diamond dealer with suspected ties to Hezbollah
- UK said it had frozen the assets of Lebanese businessman Nazem Ahmad, who is suspected of financing Hezbollah
- US authorities also announced action against international network with alleged associations with Ahmad
A diamond and art dealer was sanctioned by the UK and US governments for allegedly funding Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
The UK Treasury said it froze Nazem Ahmad’s assets in the UK because he financed the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organisation that has been designated an international terrorist group. Under the sanctions, no one in the UK or US will be able to do business with Ahmad or his businesses.
“The firm action we have taken today will clamp down on those who are funding international terrorism,” Joanna Penn, UK treasury minister, said on Tuesday. She said the move would strengthen the UK’s economic and national security.
Ahmad, who remains at large, was similarly sanctioned in 2019 by the US Treasury, which alleged he was a “prominent Lebanon-based money launderer and significant Hezbollah financier”. It also said he was involved in smuggling “blood diamonds”, which are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance violence.
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday afternoon sanctioned a network of 52 individuals and entities from Lebanon to South Africa to the United Kingdom to Hong Kong for their associations with Ahmad.
The sanctioned group is accused of running an international money laundering and sanctions evasion operation, facilitating the payment and delivery of jewellery, art and luxury goods for the benefit of Ahmad, according to Treasury.