Lebanese-Belgian man arrested in Bucharest for supporting Hezbollah

US Dept of JusticeMohammad Ibrahim Bazzi

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 02:30

Police in Romania have arrested a Lebanese-Belgian man suspected of financing the Lebanese terrorist movement Hezbollah, an organization backed by Iran. The US Justice Department had offered a $10 million reward for his arrest.

According to the United States, the man, 58-year-old Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, is an international terrorist and has channeled millions of dollars to Hezbollah for years.

“He thought he could transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars unseen from the United States to Lebanon without being seen,” prosecutor Breon Peace said in a statement. “This arrest proves him wrong.” Peace calls Hezbollah a “foreign terror organization responsible for death and devastation”.

Bazzi was arrested when he arrived at the airport of the Romanian capital Bucharest yesterday. It is unknown where he came from and why he had traveled to Bucharest.

Business Activities

According to the Americans, Bazzi was able to transfer money to Hezbollah for years through earnings from his business activities in Belgium, Lebanon, Iraq and West Africa. The companies, which are active in the oil sector, among others, were already put on a sanctions list by the United States in 2018.

The US authorities are still looking for another man, 78-year-old Talal Chahine. He allegedly worked with Bazzi to finance Hezbollah. The two would also have pressured an American citizen to cooperate in circumventing the sanctions.

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