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.