UAE adds three men, company to local terror list for links to Iran-backed Hezbollah

The UAE has designated a man, his two sons, and their company for links to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Friday.

“The resolution underscores the UAE’s commitment to target and dismantle networks that finance terrorism and its related activities,” WAM said.

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As a result of their designation, local authorities will monitor and identify individuals or entities affiliated with or associated with any financial, commercial or technical relationship with the listed company and take legal action.

The three individuals added to the local terrorist list were Hassan Moukalled and his sons, Rani and Rayyan. Their company CTEX Exchange was also added to the local terrorist list.

Last month, the US Treasury Department sanctioned the three men and CTEX, accusing them of funneling money to Hezbollah.

The father reportedly play a “key role” in enabling Hezbollah to “exploit and “exacerbate” Lebanon’s economic crisis, the US Treasury Department previously said.

Moukalled is accused of dealing with a sanctioned senior Hezbollah financial official, Muhammad Qasir, including business deals with Russia.

The US and Western countries have blacklisted Hezbollah for decades, and several Gulf countries have followed suit in recent years.

The Treasury Department said Moukalled’s money service business, CTEX Exchange, was established in 2022 as a financial front in Beirut for Hezbollah.

The company received a license from Lebanon’s Central Bank to transfer money within Lebanon and abroad, and “within a year, the company had obtained significant market share within Lebanon’s currency transfer sector and was reportedly collecting millions of US dollars for the Central Bank of Lebanon.”

The company reportedly provided US dollars to Hezbollah institutions and recruited money changers loyal to Hezbollah.

With inputs from Al Arabiya English’s Joseph Haboush

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