Angola has served as a refuge for Hezbollah’s terrorist-financiers.
Members of Hezbollah residing in Angola have used Angolan businesses to finance the Lebanese terror group. * Spencer S. Su, “Lebanese businessman, Hezbollah supporter, charged with evading U.S. sanctions,” Washington Post, March 24, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/lebanese-businessman-hezbollah-supporter-charged-with-evading-us-terror-sanctions/2017/03/24/979dbbd2-10b6-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?utm_term=.200856779db3; “Treasury Targets Hizballah Network in Africa,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 27, 2009, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg149.aspx; Chaim Even-Zohar, “Hezbollah Diamond Smugglers Put on U.S. Terrorists List,” Idex Online, May 28, 2009, http://www.idexonline.com/FullArticle?id=32413. x In 2010, the United States designated Lebanese businessman Kassim Tajideen and his Angolan companies Golfrate Holdings Lda, Afri Belg Commercio E Industria Lda, and Grupo Arosfran Empreendimentos E Participacoes Sarl as terrorist entities for contributing tens of millions of dollars to Hezbollah. * “Treasury Targets Hizballah Financial Network,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 9, 2010, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg997.aspx. x
CEP is calling on Angola to arrest, expel, or otherwise cut off support to the following individuals and entities:
U.S.-designated Hezbollah financier who publicly lists his place of employment as an Angola-based electronics and toy store. * "Treasury Targets Hizballah Fundraising Network in the Triple Frontier of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay," U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 6, 2006, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/hp190.aspx; Hatem Barakat, Facebook page, accessed April 3, 2018, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008314491434&sk=about§ion=education&lst=9327782%3A100008314491434%3A1522779681. x
Angola has harbored financiers of the Lebanon-based, Iranian-backed terrorist group. * "Treasury Targets Hizballah Financial Network," U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 9, 2010, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg997.aspx ; Emanuele Ottolenghi, "Examining the Effectiveness of the Kingpin Designation Act in the Western Hemisphere," U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, November 8, 2017, http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA07/20171108/106606/HHRG-115-FA07-Wstate-OttolenghiE-20171108.pdf . x
Further, Angola should clarify its positions toward Hezbollah, which is internationally sanctioned for carrying out global terror attacks and criminal activities such as drug smuggling.
Angola HARBORS
(Hosts and Assists Radicals By Offering Refuge and Support)
Angola has so far remained free of violent extremist activity from regional Islamist threats such as Boko Haram, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and al-Shabab. Nonetheless, Lebanese extremist group Hezbollah has used the country as a financial hub.
Fact Sheet: Hezbollah Financing in Angola
Hezbollah agents have used Angolan businesses to finance the terror group.