Lebanon’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan: US-sanctioned Hezbollah cash source
The financial institution is the latest target of IDF airstrikes as Israel seeks to degrade the terror group’s ability to fund its war on the Jewish state
Israeli airstrikes targeted branches of an association accused of financing the Hezbollah terror group late Sunday and early Monday, as Israel appeared to expand its campaign against the Iran-backed group in an effort to degrade its ability to fund operations.
At least 11 strikes were reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with more attacks in southern Lebanon and the northeastern Beqaa Valley region, all Hezbollah strongholds, as panicked civilians tried to reach shelter.
Most of the strikes targeted branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, seen as one of the group’s main sources of cash.
Here are some details about Al-Qard Al-Hassan (AQAH):
– Founded in 1983, Al-Qard Al-Hassan describes itself as a charitable organization, which provides loans to people according to Islamic principles that forbid interest. It has more than 30 branches across Lebanon, including 15 in densely populated parts of central Beirut and its suburbs. It operates under a license granted by the Lebanese government.
– Many people from Hezbollah’s Shiite constituency have borrowed from Al-Qard Al-Hassan, taking hard currency loans against the value of jewelry — for example — repayable over several years on flexible terms. Its role expanded as Lebanon sank into a deep financial crisis beginning in 2019, freezing ordinary Lebanese out of their savings. Hezbollah encouraged Lebanese from all sects and political factions to use AQAH.
– The United States Department of the Treasury, which sanctioned AQAH in 2007, has said that Hezbollah uses Al-Qard Al-Hassan as a cover to manage “financial activities and gain access to the international financial system.” “While AQAH purports to serve the Lebanese people, in practice it illicitly moves funds through shell accounts and facilitators, exposing Lebanese financial institutions to possible sanctions,” it said in a later statement sanctioning individuals linked to it in 2021.
– Hezbollah’s slain terror chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on September 27, spoke about AQAH many times. In 2020, after Al-Qard Al-Hassan was hacked and names of its clients were published, Nasrallah said the aim was to scare away its users in a bid to make the institution collapse. He urged Hezbollah supporters to respond by depositing any funds they had at home with Al-Qard Al-Hassan. He described it as an organization supported and protected by Hezbollah.
– Al-Qard Al-Hassan is estimated to have hundreds of thousands of clients, according to two regional financial sources.
The Times of Israel Community.