New FinCEN Alert Shows Cash, Smuggling Preferred Method For Hezbollah Financing
A FinCEN alert issued on Wednesday highlights that Hezbollah does not use cryptocurrencies at scale to finance its operations.
- FinCEN has issued an alert to tackle Hezbollah financing through the US financial system on Wednesday
- The alert shows that cryptocurrencies are not a preffered financing method for the group
- Traditional financial infrastructure, such as bulk cash transfers and smuggling, are used at a larger scale
On Wednesday, FinCEN issued an alert to combat the illicit financing of Hezbollah through the US financial system, intended to aid the US Government in the identification of Hezbollah linked transactions.
The alert identifies seven key indicators for financial institutions to increasingly monitor, including transactions related to shipping, real estate, and the diamonds industry.
Regarding cryptocurrencies, the alert notes that transactions should be increasingly monitored if a customer conducts transactions with money service businesses located in known regions of increased Hezbollah financing activity, such as the tri-border region of South America, the Middle East, or West Africa, and has opaque ownership or whose beneficial owners are known associates of Hezbollah.
The alert notes that the group and its facilitators have used convertible virtual currencies in support of money laundering activities in the past, but highlights that "the group continues to rely extensively on more traditional methods like bulk cash smuggling."
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