US, UK impose sanctions against Lebanese businessman
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The US imposes sanctions on a worldwide network of 52 individuals and businesses based in Lebanon, the UAE, and the UK.
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A worker walks into the Treasury building in London, Britain, on October 11, 2022 (Reuters)
The United Kingdom stated Tuesday that it has blocked the assets of Nazem Said Ahmad, a Lebanese businessman, under the pretext of supporting the Lebanese Resistance party Hezbollah, while the United States took action against a network allegedly assisting the individual in evading sanctions.
The move by the UK Treasury against Nazem Said Ahmad on national security grounds mirrors similar US limitations implemented in 2019.
Meanwhile, Washington imposed further penalties on Tuesday on a worldwide network of 52 individuals and businesses based in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom who allegedly aided Ahmad.
In 2019, the US claimed that Hezbollah had utilized Ahmad and his firms to launder "substantial amounts of money."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Tuesday that the new steps are "against a global sanctions evasion network that facilitates the payment, shipment, and delivery of cash, art, and luxury goods" for Ahmad's benefit.
According to the UK Treasury, Ahmad has a large art collection in the UK and does business with artists, galleries, and auction houses there. Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol are among the artists in Ahmad's enormous art collection.
"All assets and economic resources belonging to Ahmad in the UK have been frozen," according to a UK Treasury statement, and "no UK person may do business with him or any of the companies he owns or controls."
The US State Department's top sanctions official, Brian Nelson alleged that "the individuals involved in this network used shell companies and fraudulent schemes to disguise Nazem Said Ahmad's role in financial transactions."
