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唐朱昌
唐朱昌
教授,博士生导师。复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心首任主任,复旦大学俄...
严立新
严立新
复旦大学国际金融学院教授,中国反洗钱研究中心执行主任,陆家嘴金...
陈浩然
陈浩然
复旦大学法学院教授、博士生导师;复旦大学国际刑法研究中心主任。...
何 萍
何 萍
华东政法大学刑法学教授,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员,荷...
李小杰
李小杰
安永金融服务风险管理、咨询总监,曾任蚂蚁金服反洗钱总监,复旦大学...
周锦贤
周锦贤
周锦贤先生,香港人,广州暨南大学法律学士,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中...
童文俊
童文俊
高级经济师,复旦大学金融学博士,复旦大学经济学博士后。现供职于中...
汤 俊
汤 俊
武汉中南财经政法大学信息安全学院教授。长期专注于反洗钱/反恐...
李 刚
李 刚
生辰:1977.7.26 籍贯:辽宁抚顺 民族:汉 党派:九三学社 职称:教授 研究...
祝亚雄
祝亚雄
祝亚雄,1974年生,浙江衢州人。浙江师范大学经济与管理学院副教授,博...
顾卿华
顾卿华
复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员;现任安永管理咨询服务合伙...
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上传时间: 2018-12-07      浏览次数:757次
Lebanese Businessman Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lebanese-businessman-pleads-guilty-to-money-laundering-1544200756

 

Kassim Tajideen, who runs a network of businesses in Lebanon and Africa, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C., to charges associated with efforts to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on him.

 

Mr. Tajideen, 63 years old, was put under U.S. sanctions in 2009 for his financial support of the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Those measures froze his U.S. assets, and barred Americans from doing business with him.

 

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in furtherance of violating U.S. sanctions laws, prosecutors said. The plea, which requires court approval, calls for an agreed-upon sentence of five years in prison. He also agreed to pay a criminal forfeiture of $50 million in advance of his sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 18.

 

The Lebanese national was arrested in Morocco and charged in March 2017.

 

Despite the 2009 sanctions, Mr. Tajideen and his brothers continued the business, restructuring his companies to avoid the restrictions, prosecutors said. The brothers have given tens of millions of dollars to Hezbollah, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2016.

 

According to a statement of facts signed by Tajideen, he conspired with at least five other people to conduct over $50 million in transactions with U.S. businesses that violated the sanctions. He also admitted transmitting as much as $1 billion through the U.S., prosecutors said.

 

Mr. Tajideen has denied any involvement with Hezbollah, telling the Journal in 2016 he had nothing to do with any terrorist group. In his plea Thursday, Mr. Tajideen maintains that the sanctions were improper.

 

Ben Davis, chief research officer of Kharon, a sanctions-related risk data analytics firm, said Mr. Tajideen was one of Hezbollah’s key money men, and he had taken extensive measures to create a diverse network to evade U.S. sanctions.

 

We often find that once firms in Hezbollah’s networks are sanctioned, businessmen supporting the terrorist organization establish new entities and obscure their supply chains to continue operations,” Mr. Davis said.

 

Companies owned or controlled by Mr. Tajideen or his relatives continued to engage in business in the Democratic Republic of Congo up until before his arrest and extradition to the U.S. in 2017, Mr. Davis added.

 

Kassim Tajideen pleaded guilty to charges associated with efforts to evade U.S. sanctions imposed on him. An earlier headline on this article incorrectly stated Mr. Tajideen admitted to laundering money for Hezbollah.