Charities benefiting the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are relying on digital banking apps to circumvent US anti-terrorism sanctions, the Financial Times reported on Monday citing documents.
New Lebanon-based digital banking services like Whish and rival OMT are connected to international banking systems such as Visa and Mastercard and facilitate the money transfers to and from Lebanon, the report said.
A series of sanctioned Iran-linked organizations, like the Lebanese branch of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation known as the Emdad Association and Hezbollah's Martyr Foundation and Wounded Foundation, actively use the services.
OMT allows individuals to transfer money using the recipient’s name and phone number, meaning these organizations could raise money from the vast Lebanese diaspora populations such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The UK-based newspaper reported that it had monitored a transaction via Whish's international partner RIA involving a dollar-denominated transfer, after which a donor to Emdad received a receipt from the organization matching the transaction.
This mechanism allows individuals to send large amounts of money to the charities and organizations in small tranches to different names and numbers via Emdad's WhatsApp account.
Both Whish and OMT denied any wrongdoing or mishandling related to sanctions on Hezbollah and its affiliates.
Lebanon's banking sector has been in crisis since 2019, when widespread protests and capital controls triggered a near-collapse, slashing deposits by over 90% and fueling hyperinflation.
In response digital banking has surged with apps like Whish and OMT amassing millions of users for quick transfers amid chronic cash shortages.
Israel assassinated Hezbollah's veteran leader Hassan Nasrallah last year and dealt the group historic blows, and the group faces a major challenge after Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun instructed the military to confiscate its weapons.
Netanyahu warning
Tensions continue to flare with Israel, which occupies outposts of Lebanese territory and has launched repeated deadly airstrikes.
“We expect the Lebanese government to do what it has pledged to do, namely to disarm Hezbollah ... We will not allow Lebanon to become a renewed front against us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the beginning of a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Hezbollah's has refused to fully disarm, fueling concern in Lebanon that a standoff over the issue could devolve into civil war.
Tom Barrack, US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, told a security conference in Bahrain on Saturday that it was unlikely Hezbollah could be disarmed despite Washington's stated policy goals.
“Lebanon is a failed state,” Barrack said, adding it was run by "dinosaurs."
“The idea of disarming Hezbollah — in our opinion, it’s not reasonable to tell Lebanon, ‘Forcibly disarm one of your political parties,'” Barrack added. “Everybody’s scared to death to go into a civil war. The idea is, what can you do to have Hezbollah not utilize those rockets and missiles?”
Founded in 1982 by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hezbollah has grown into Lebanon’s most powerful military force, surpassing the national army in capabilities.
The group has fought multiple wars with Israel and has rejected any initiatives to dismantle its military wing.
