$60M a month to Hezbollah? US claim raises alarms in Lebanon

Report by Bassam Abou Zeid, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

No one in Lebanon has been able to explain the figure of $60 million that U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said flows to Hezbollah each month.

Observers of the issue believe the figure may come from monitoring by the U.S. Treasury Department and American intelligence agencies. A Treasury delegation is currently in Lebanon and has held talks with officials from the Association of Banks in Lebanon and the country’s central bank.

Lebanese monetary authorities say it is impossible for the country’s banking system or licensed money transfer companies to handle such an amount. They say these institutions comply with international standards on combating money laundering and terrorism financing, and that any violation would expose owners to sanctions that could destroy their businesses.

So where does Hezbollah’s financing come from?

Sources say Iran remains a key source of funding, though in more concealed and limited ways. They also point to illicit activities that provide revenue, including drug, oil and car trafficking, as well as financial networks and cryptocurrency markets. 

Much of this activity is believed to be based in Latin America, Africa, and Europe.

According to these sources, Hezbollah in Lebanon also continues to benefit from direct donations by supporters, as well as contributions through charitable associations and revenues from private-sector companies and institutions linked to the group.

Claims that Hezbollah also relied on captagon smuggling from Lebanon have become less plausible.

These sources add that the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria negatively affected Hezbollah’s financial transfers. They also say measures taken by Lebanese authorities at land borders, airports, and seaports have reduced — but not stopped — the flow of money to the group. Turkey, they note, has increasingly become a route for moving cash through Syria into Lebanon.