Date: Feb 27, 2020 Source: The Daily Star U.S. targets individuals linked to Martyrs Foundation Martyrs Foundation works against Lebanon: Pompeo BEIRUT/WASHINGTON: The United States Wednesday added a host of Lebanese individuals and entities it said were linked to the Martyrs Foundation to its designated "global terrorists" lists, according to a notice on the U.S. Treasury Department's website. U.S. officials have previously targeted the Lebanon-based Martyrs Foundation, an organization the department has said channels financial support to several groups, including Hezbollah. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had blacklisted Atlas Holding for being owned or controlled by the Martyrs Foundation, as well as senior Atlas official Kassem Mohamad Ali Bazzi, and 10 Atlas-affiliated companies. The Treasury statement claimed that the Atlas Holding- that was also subordinate to Hezbollah’s Executive Council - "along with several of its subsidiaries banked freely at Jammal Trust Bank despite their open affiliation with previously designated Hezbollah entities." The statement added that "Jammal Trust Bank facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions through the Lebanese financial system on behalf of Atlas Holding and its subsidiaries, and aided Hezbollah officials in evading scrutiny on these accounts from Lebanese banking authorities." In late August 2019, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control accused JTB of “brazenly enabling” Hezbollah’s financial activities,a claim the bank denied. Jawad Nur-al-Din and Sheikh Yusuf Aasi were also designated Wednesday for being leaders or officials of the Martyrs Foundation, which was designated for supporting terrorism in July 2007. Mirath S.A.L., which is owned or controlled by Jawad Nur-al-Din, was also designated. Other entities slammed by the sanctions include Medical Equipment and Drugs International Corporation (Medic), Amana Fuel co, Amana Plus and City Pharma SARL. As a result, all property of those targeted that fall under U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked and reported to OFAC, whose rules generally bar all U.S. persons from dealing with them. Further, those blacklisted are subject to secondary sanctions under which OFAC can penalize foreign financial institutions which deal with them. “Hezbollah profits from the sale of goods vital to the Lebanese peoples’ health and economy, such as pharmaceuticals and gasoline,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said according to the statement. “The Trump Administration stands with the Lebanese people, and we are committed to exposing and holding accountable Hezbollah’s terror-funding business schemes.” Al Hurra TV station quoted Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the U.S. Department of the Treasury Marshall Billingslea as saying that the sanctions Wednesday would not affect the Lebanese’s ability to access medical supplies and medicine. Nevertheless, he said that it would affect Hezbollah’s ability to “smuggle” medication from countries such as Iran. Billingslea also added that “Hezbollah was attempting to control the Lebanese economy the same way it attempted to control [Lebanon’s] political life.]" He said that the U.S. expects that Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government will move quickly to address the international community’s continuous fear from corruption in Lebanon “The Lebanese people deserve the best and the U.S. intends to hold politicians accountable if the situation continues as is,” he added. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker said that the sanctions aimed at cutting Hezbollah’s tentacles in the Lebanese economy and ultimately shutting down these entities, UAE’s The National said Wednesday. “You are going to see developments on the ground especially that little less than two percent of Lebanese gas stations [which are those targeted] should disappear,” Schenker told the daily. Schenker told the paper that these sanctions will freeze the accounts of the entities and cripple their ability to make transactions. The U.S. government, he added, will work with the “Lebanese Central Bank who is responsive” to reach this end goal. Schenker told The National that the timing of the designations is related to a process of collecting evidence, intelligence information on forensics, and financial information that “would withstand scrutiny within the US government.” Schenker was also quoted by Al Hurra TV saying that there were no reforms in Lebanon and there were practices that lead to an increase in the public debt. He added that were many reasons that led to Lebanon’s current financial situation “all of which are the result of Lebanese decisions made by Lebanese politicians and the banking sector.” -with Reuters Martyrs Foundation works against Lebanon: Pompeo BEIRUT: Individuals linked to the Martyrs Foundation who were targeted by a new round of U.S. sanctions work against the interests of the Lebanese people, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday. “[The] designation of 15 Lebanon-based individuals and entities linked to the Hezbollah-affiliated Martyrs Foundation highlights how the terrorist group continues to pursue its own interests and the interests of its sponsor, Iran, at the expense of the Lebanese people,” Pompeo tweeted Thursday. The U.S. Wednesday added those individuals and entities to its “global terrorists” list. The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that its Office of Foreign Assets Control had blacklisted Atlas Holding for being owned or controlled by the Martyrs Foundation, as well as senior Atlas official Kassem Mohammad Ali Bazzi, and 10 Atlas-affiliated companies.