The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Hezbollah official and two Lebanon-based companies it accused of being linked to the Iran-backed Shiite militant group, the US Treasury Department said in a statement. The Treasury said it blacklisted Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction, two Lebanon-based companies it said were leveraged by Hezbollah to conceal money transfers to the group's own accounts, helping to enrich Hezbollah leadership. Additionally, the Treasury designated Sultan Khalifah As'ad, a Hezbollah executive council official, who is closely associated with both companies. "Hizballah (Hezbollah) relies on corrupt self-enrichment to advance its agenda in Lebanon. Today we designated two Hizballah-linked companies and one official involved in illicit schemes. The people of Lebanon deserve better and the US will continue to stand against corruption, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet while commenting on the move. Meanwhile, US Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin said: "Through Hizballah's exploitation of the Lebanese economy and manipulation of corrupt Lebanese officials, companies associated with the terrorist organization are awarded government contracts". "The United States remains committed to targeting Hizballah and its supporters as they corruptly abuse Lebanese resources to enrich their leaders while the Lebanese people suffer from inadequate services," Mnuchin added. The US treasury also accused Hezbollah of conspiring with Lebanese officials, including the recently designated former Minister of Public Works and Transportation, Yusuf Finyanus, to direct government contracts worth millions of dollars to these companies, which are overseen by Hezbollah's executive council. The council also receives corrupt profits from these companies. "This action builds on previous Treasury actions against Hezbollah executive council companies, including Atlas Holdings, which was designated in February 2020, as well as the recent designations earlier this month of corrupt former Lebanese Ministers Yusuf Finyaus and Ali Hassan Khalil for supporting Hezbollah," the statement read. — Agencies
