More than 50 individuals and entities associated with an international money-laundering network that supports a financier for Hizballah have been blacklisted, the U.S. Department of the Treasury reported last month.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued the designations on April 18. The individuals and entities were based in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, the news release reports.

"This network facilitated the payment, shipment, and delivery of cash, diamonds, precious gems, art, and luxury goods for the benefit of Hizballah financier and Specially Designated Global Terrorist Nazem Said Ahmad, who was designated on December 13, 2019, for providing material support to Hizballah," Treasury states in the release. 

Treasury reports in the release that Ahmad oversees a worldwide cabal that includes family members, associates and companies. The network uses legal and illegal methods to "take advantage of the permissive nature" of international art, diamonds and gems markets to arrange the purchase and delivery of luxury goods to Ahmad in Lebanon. Ahmad uses the network to conduct the transactions on his behalf, which enables him to avoid U.S. and international financial safeguards, according to the release. Ahmad and the network are also said to secretly store large amounts of cash outside of Lebanese jurisdiction

“The individuals involved in this network used shell companies and fraudulent schemes to disguise Nazem Said Ahmad’s role in financial transactions,” Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in the release. “Luxury good market participants should be attentive to these potential tactics and schemes, which allow terrorist financiers, money launderers, and sanctions evaders to launder illicit proceeds through the purchase and consignment of luxury goods.”

The Treasury Department documented the money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks associated with the mainstream art trade in its February 2022 report "Study of the Facilitation of Money Laundering and Terror Financing Via the Trade of Works of Art" and its October 2020 OFAC Art Advisory.

OFAC is designating the widespread network of family members, business associates, and companies under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 which, as amended, targets terrorists, terrorist organizations, terrorist group leaders and officials, and entities providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

The blacklisting and designations are the result of coordinated efforts with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State's Rewards for Justice program and the United Kingdom, the release reports.