US Treasury sanctions Hezbollah-linked gold exchange
US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targets revenue streams tied to Iran and Lebanon's informal financial sector
The US Department of the Treasury on Tuesday announced new sanctions targeting what it described as two key financial mechanisms used by Hezbollah to sustain its operations. The measures, imposed by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), aim to disrupt revenue generation coordinated with the Iranian regime and the group’s use of Lebanon’s informal financial sector, according to the department.
OFAC said it sanctioned Jood SARL, a Lebanon-based gold exchange company that operates under the supervision of Hezbollah's US-designated financial arm, Al-Qard Al-Hassan. Treasury said Jood converts Hezballah’s gold reserves into usable funds that support the group’s reconstitution. The action also targeted an international procurement and commodities shipping network run by Hezbollah financiers operating across the region, including from Iran.
“Hezbollah is a threat to peace and stability in the Middle East,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Treasury will work to cut these terrorists off from the global financial system to give Lebanon a chance to be peaceful and prosperous again.”
According to Treasury, Al-Qard Al-Hassan operates under the cover of a Lebanese Ministry of Interior-granted NGO license but provides financial services similar to a bank, beyond those disclosed in its registration documents. After facing funding challenges in early 2025, Hezbollah directed Al-Qard Al-Hassan to establish a chain of gold trading companies to maintain access to cash flow, officials said.
The sanctions also target a revenue-generating network linked to Iran-based Hezbollah finance team member Ali Qasir. Treasury said the network involved associates in Russia, Turkey, Syria, and Iran and included schemes to procure weapons, sell commodities, and ship fertilizer using falsified documentation to evade sanctions. Several companies, vessels, and individuals were designated for materially assisting Hezbollah, including shipping firms and cargo vessels used in the transactions.
The Treasury warned that violations of US sanctions may result in civil or criminal penalties and that foreign financial institutions could face secondary sanctions for facilitating significant transactions on behalf of designated persons.