2023-04-26 17:20:49
The Lebanese-Belgian will appear in Brooklyn Federal Court today on charges of sanctions evasion and money laundering
Prosecutors said that Romania has extradited a person with Lebanese and Belgian nationalities to the United States on charges of financing the Lebanese Hezbollah. He appeared in Brooklyn Federal Court today, Wednesday, on charges of evading sanctions and money laundering.
Muhammad Bazzi, whom Washington accuses of sending millions of dollars to Hezbollah, was arrested in February on charges of secretly selling real estate he owns in Michigan and transferring money abroad in violation of US penal laws.
Bazzi was deported from Romania on Tuesday. Bazzi pleaded not guilty at a hearing Wednesday before Judge Peggy Coe, according to a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s office in Brooklyn. An order was issued to hold him pending trial.
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Bazzi (58 years old) in 2018, due to his links to the Hezbollah militia, which Washington classifies as a terrorist organization.
Last week, Brooklyn prosecutors charged a person named Nazim Ahmed with financing Hezbollah and evading US sanctions by exporting diamonds and artwork worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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