The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed new sanctions on a network of 10 individuals involved in smuggling millions of dollars in cash to Hizballah, while also re-designating Hizballah itself for its service to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) identified a sophisticated cash transfer operation that uses couriers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkiye, the UAE, and Iran. This network moves up to hundreds of millions of dollars, enabling Hizballah to acquire foreign currency outside the formal financial system and evade existing sanctions.
Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz is accused of managing this courier network, utilizing Türkiye-based exchange houses as fronts and providing bank accounts for IRGC-QF-linked money transfers. His associates, including Halil Ibrahim Kacmaz and Onder Dede, collected cash, while Vasfi Akyuz coordinated logistics and acted as a courier. Additional couriers designated include Mehmet Akyuz, Mehmet Acur, Feyyad Karasalih, Masoud Mousafar, Gulay Kaya Savci, and Emrah Ayaz, all of whom covertly transported cash for Hizballah.
The re-designation of Hizballah under Executive Order 13224, as amended, underscores its deep ties to the IRGC-QF, which is cited for coordinating attacks and directing Hizballah's political decisions. These actions block all property and interests of the designated individuals and entities within U.S. jurisdiction, prohibiting transactions by U.S. persons and potentially exposing foreign financial institutions to secondary sanctions for involvement.