Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, 60, who holds Lebanese, British and Belgian citizenship, pleads guilty in a federal court in New York to conspiracy to conduct unlawful transactions with an international terrorist, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice.
Bazzi had "claimed the credit for his role in conspiring to secretly move hundreds of thousands of dollars from the United States to Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...in violation of sanctions placed on him for assisting the terrorist group Hezbollah," US prosecutor Breon Peace says.
Bazzi faces up to 20 years imprisonment, as well as deportation and forfeiture of the $828,528 involved in illegal transactions.
No sentencing date has been set.
The State Department in May 2018 had declared Bazzi to be a "specially designated global terrorist" and offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has said Bazzi "has provided millions of dollars to Hezbollah over the years, generated from his business activities in Belgium, Lebanon, Iraq and throughout West Africa."
In February 2023, he was arrested in Romania and extradited to the US.
The US attorney’s statement says Bazzi had worked with an accomplice, Talal Chahine, who remains on the loose in Lebanon.
According to investigative journalism outlet ProPublica, Bazzi was appointed honorary consul in Lebanon by the government of Gambia
... The Gambia is actually surrounded by The Senegal on all sides but its west coast. It has a population of about 1.7 million. The difference between the two is that in colonial days Senegal was ruled by La Belle France and The Gambia (so-called because there's only one of it, unlike Guinea, of which there are the Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, New Guinea, the English coin in circulation between 1663 and 1813, and Guyana, which sounds like it should be another one) was ruled by Britain...
in 2005. The volunteer diplomat role helped him access unique connections and benefits, which can be ripe for abuse.
Related:
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi 09/06/2024 Accused Hezbollah financier expected to plead guilty in US sanctions evasion case
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi 02/25/2023 Key Hezbollah financier, ‘global terrorist’ arrested in Bucharest
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi 05/18/2018 New US sanctions hit at Hezbollah financiers, funding
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi 09/06/2024 Accused Hezbollah financier expected to plead guilty in US sanctions evasion case
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi 02/25/2023 Key Hezbollah financier, ‘global terrorist’ arrested in Bucharest
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi 05/18/2018 New US sanctions hit at Hezbollah financiers, funding