Date: Apr 12, 2019 Source: The Daily Star US slaps new sanctions on alleged Hezbollah funders BEIRUT: The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Thursday several exchange dealers accused of funding Hezbollah, a U.S. official told The Daily Star. “Kassem Chams and several financial and exchange dealer institutions were designated by the U.S. Treasury for funding illicit Hezbollah operations abroad,” Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the Treasury, Marshall Billingslea, said in a phone call from Washington. Chams is the owner of the Chams Exchange company, based in Chtoura, in Bekaa. According to a statement from the U.S. Treasury, the Chams Exchange operates under the license and the supervision of Lebanon’s Central Bank, “despite U.S. authorities long suspecting it of being a significant third-party money laundering operation.” The statement added: “[The] Treasury is committed to working with BdL to eliminate access to the Lebanese financial system by narcotics traffickers, money launderers and terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.”