TWO Australian citizens suspected of sending thousands of dollars to Lebanon to help fund Hezbollah during the recent conflict with Israel are being investigated for allegedly breaching terror financing laws.Australia's anti-money laundering regulator Austrac has identified at least five suspicious transactions involving two people after closely examining every financial transfer between Australia and Lebanon during the 57-day war.
Austrac's head of intelligence, John Visser, confirmed that an investigation was under way into a "network" suspected of providing financial assistance to the banned terror organisation. "One particular network was of interest," Mr Visser told a national security conference in Sydney on Wednesday. "The people in that network have been picked up."
Mr Visser revealed that Austrac's specialist financial intelligence unit had linked two suspect transaction records to a name and an address and a further three suspect transaction records to another name. But Mr Visser, citing official secrecy, refused to give further details, including whether the people had been arrested or charged with an offence or the amounts involved.
An Australian Federal Police spokesman told The Australian they had not charged anyone in relation to the matter.
Hezbollah's terrorist arm, the External Security Organisation, is proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia and supporting its political and military wings isillegal under UN counter-terrorist financing declarations. At the time of the conflict, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock warned the Lebanese community in Australia it was illegal to provide financial support to Hezbollah.
The latest investigation comes after The Australian revealed last year that Tamils living in Australia were supporting the Tamil Tiger terrorist group in Sri Lanka. Last year, domestic spy agency ASIO assured federal parliament's joint intelligence committee that the Hezbollah organisation had no active links to Australia.
The head of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council of Australia, Kamal Mousselmani, told The Australian yesterday he had also assured ASIO right at the beginning of the conflict that the Shia community would not provide any financial support to Hezbollah. He said his community often sent money to relatives in Lebanon, but not to Hezbollah. He added that he was confident there was no organised financial support for Hezbollah in Australia."That's what we told ASIO," he said. "There is no benefit in being with Hezbollah. We support our people in Lebanon, but not Hezbollah."