Overview

Adham Hussein Tabaja is a U.S.-designated Lebanese businessman who directs and manages key financial networks for Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. On June 15, 2015, Tabaja was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the U.S. Department of Justice for providing financial support to Hezbollah. Given Tabaja’s continued business ventures on behalf of Hezbollah, on April 22, 2019, the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program announced a reward of up to $10 million for information that would lead to his capture.“Treasury Targets Sanctions Evasion Conduits for Major Hizballah Financiers,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, April 24, 2019, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm668.

Tabaja is the majority owner of the Lebanon-based real estate development and construction firm Al-Inmaa Group for Tourism Works. The company’s subsidiaries include Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting, which operates in Lebanon and Iraq, as well as Lebanon-based Al-Inmaa for Entertainment and Leisure Projects. Given his penchant for real estate, Tabaja holds properties in Lebanon on behalf of Hezbollah. Since the late 1990s, Tabaja’s company Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting has been one of the largest and most successful real estate businesses in Lebanon. Tabaja then leveraged his ties to Hezbollah to create a construction monopoly for Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting in the Hezbollah-controlled Dahieh section of Beirut and southern Lebanon.“Treasury Sanctions Hizballah Front Companies and Facilitators in Lebanon And Iraq,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, June 10, 2015, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jl0069. When Tabaja expanded Al-Inmaa Engineering and Contracting to Iraq, he used the Iraqi branches of the company to obtain oil and construction development projects. The profits from the projects, and the buildings used for the projects, directly financially supported, and provided an operational location for Hezbollah.“Adham Husayn Tabaja,” Rewards for Justice, https://rewardsforjustice.net/rewards/adham-husayn-tabaja.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Tabaja also maintains direct ties with senior Hezbollah officials as well as their various branches, including the terrorist group’s operational component, Islamic Jihad.“Treasury Targets Sanctions Evasion Conduits for Major Hizballah Financiers,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, April 24, 2019, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm668. Accordingly, Tabaja and his companies worked alongside Hezbollah political official Muhammad Kawtharani to secure lucrative business contracts in the Green Zone areas of Baghdad, Iraq.“Adham Husayn Tabaja,” Rewards for Justice, https://rewardsforjustice.net/rewards/adham-husayn-tabaja.

On June 10, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Tabaja as an SDGT for providing material support or resources to Hezbollah. Additionally Saudi Arabia has designated Tabaja and his companies as terrorist entities.“Adham Husayn Tabaja,” Rewards for Justice, https://rewardsforjustice.net/rewards/adham-husayn-tabaja. Given that Tabaja continues to serve at the forefront of Hezbollah’s financial network, on April 22, 2019, the Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program announced a reward for $10 million on information leading to the capture of Tabaja.“Treasury Targets Sanctions Evasion Conduits for Major Hizballah Financiers,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, April 24, 2019, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm668.