Hizbullah’s Money Laundering Operations Include Beirut Bank and Drug Trade
The Islamic terror group Hizbullah, which gets support from Syria and Iran and operates with impunity through much of Lebanon has the means to sustain itself with the drug trade and money laundering courtesy of a Beirut bank.
Despite efforts to crack down and track such money laundering and trafficking operations, Hizbullah has thrived and expanded its drug and money laundering business. It is less dependent on Iran than in previous years, and that makes the group even more dangerous. While it still relies on Syria and Iran for arms shipments, the ability to raise money through its own channels allows it to expand its tentacles into other areas of Lebanese politics and it remains an existential threat to Israel.
The money laundering allows Hizbullah to make significant land purchases in Lebanon that it would not be otherwise capable of doing. Much of those land purchases are in militarily strategic areas and can fortify Hizbullah’s position within the fragmented Lebanese society. That further destabilizes the Lebanese political situation, which remains in flux.
Hizbullah operates with impunity in Southern Lebanon, despite UN SCR 1701 that calls for all militia groups to be disarmed. Neither UNIFIL nor the Lebanese military has the ability to disarm the terror group, and Hizbullah forced itself into the Lebanese government and has therefore thwarted further efforts to stop the group’s ongoing militarization in Southern Lebanon.