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Subscribe to RSSNEW YORK -- U.S. authorities said on Monday that they had seized $150 million from a Lebanese bank suspected of being at the heart of international money-laundering schemes linked to the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
In February 2011, the U.S. Treasury department designated the Lebanese Canadian Bank as a "primary money-laundering concern." The privately owned bank was subsequently merged with the Lebanese subsidiary of Societe Generale.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration accused bank officials of knowingly participating in a scheme in which money from various individuals and companies in Beirut was sent from Lebanon to purchase used cars in the United States. The cars were then sold in West Africa, and Hezbollah-linked groups would help smuggle the proceeds into Lebanon, authorities said.
Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist guerrilla and political movement founded with Iran's help after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982.
Report: HSBC allowed money laundering that likely funded terror, drugs
Washington considers Hezbollah to be a terrorist group. U.S. officials say that it has become increasingly involved in the drug trade, facilitating the distribution and sale of cocaine in West Africa.
The money seized was held in corresponding accounts at five different banks in the United States, including Citibank and London-based bank Standard Chartered. The five banks have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Standard Chartered, NY regulator reach $340M settlement over Iran-linked transactions
An attorney for the Lebanese Canadian Bank did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
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Hezbollah and used-car salesmen. It's an un-holy alliance. The devil is at work here.
Good one
Actually, it makes perfect sense. You wouldn't want to park a vehicle full of explosives in front of our embassies before the new-car smell was gone.
It is good to see something like this happen, but $150 million is only a drop in the bucket when it comes to money laundering for criminal and terrorist organizations and rogue states. May putting a billion instead of million after the number might actually make a dent in the problem. The banks make far too much money off these international transactions to actually want to take any significant steps to stop these activities.
H-jonnyBoy, sounds like yu think YU have lily white gloves on??? DU YU? I sincerely DOUBT it.
You sound like the "unholy allianceman" yourself, ... mr purrrfect? orrrr probably just a WANNA-BEEE.
Geez Denk, try to attain a sense of humor, OK?
On another note, if the bank had called itself Wells Fargo, they never would have had any problems.
Amazing !!! First time I've seen any Article that mentioned Citibank that said "Citibank "has not been accused of wrongdoing". Is Citibank just lucky in this case or is it really cleaning up its act?
This is just a prelude to the next war which will be in Lebanon. After the US and Israel wrap up Syria, they are going to take out Lebanon. Once they take out Lebanon, they are attacking Iran (that is why they will not leave Iraq and Afghanistan - for an all out attack on all of Iran's fronts).
The US and Israel are taking out threats on Israel's borders before an attack on Iran. For all those who are really anti-war, you need to preempt your Congressman and tell them you are against the upcoming wars in Lebanon and Iran (even as described by General Wesley Clark in 2007 - regime change for 7 countries in 5 years - Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran).
Israel tried to wipe out Hezbollah in 2006 (using illegal weapons as well) and failed. Now they are going to have the USA save the day for them again, using our tax dollars, again. All these wars are for them and they do not care about the American tax payer. So if you ever wonder why we aren't leaving any of these countries, think about who the primary beneficiary is. The country that does not pay for it at all, but reaps all the benefits.
These past few elections are not about which president will best represent the American people, but the president that will best represent Israel's interest. That is why in 2008, when Obama won his Democratic primary, his first speech was not to the American people about making America better. His first speech after winning the primary was in fact to the American Israeli PAC, about what he would do for Israel. And it is not only Obama, but any president who is elected to office that has to do that.
That is why Ron Paul is shut down on every debate. He refuses to put Israel ahead of the US, so AIPAC lobbies hard against him and the media does not give him air time.
Now if they want to do a little something good they can put this money toward our national debt!! Don't pocket it.
Watch for a news report of a extra cash infusion of $150 million in the Obama campaign fund.
He's going to need it...
you're an idiot.
"you're an idiot"
A idiot that votes...
See ya in November!
TheStuffMaker 25
After this great job by our C.I.A. you're injecting politics.........I beg to second......."you're an idiot".
The motion has been seconded, all in favor say aye: AYE, the motion is carried thestuffmaker25 is offically an idiot.
Yes, but do we have to use the money to pay our debt to the Chinese? Or maybe we could use the money to help all the women who have to raise children from legitimate rape.
You could, but I bet they just use it to keep flying around and avoiding President Obama from actually going to his office to work.
Maybe Joe Bidden's "hush" fund...
I guess the "cash for clunkers" program DID pay off after all....wonder who designed that program?
I can hear the salesman now..."This car was only driven once, by a little old lady who blew herself up."
Good job by the Feds, the same Feds if smaller govt happens will lose their jobs. Not sure why people think small govt with a population of over 300 mill and a very complicated world can be possible. Now a more efficient govt is to be hopped for.
...those people believe in a small government either because they are really rich and think that their own money will sustain them in which case they have no sense of reality and / or they have been duped by people or groups (Tea Party, GOP, NRA etc.) with a different agenda. I agree with your comments. Well done by the United States Government Officials.
Smaller is more effcient, unless of course you think its fair that out of every 3 dollars spent on welfare 2 dollars goes to administration. If you've ever been to a 15 table restaurant and a 150 table restaurant, you know which one is far better. Big surprise that Lieberal/Socialist Canada is allowing terrorists to thrive. Neighbors are more like relatives than friends because you can't pick them.
Is it time to take the gloves off?
150M worth of bombs for the Somalia Pirates, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah?
You know they would if they could. Do it all in a space of two days.
Then...........Hello North Korea! Time to take out the trash!
So you think 75 2 million dollar smart bombs will make a difference ; only too the stockholders
Canada is full of Lebanese crooks, thieves and bad guys, especially Montreal. Thousands have migrated there, claiming to be working in Canada but in fact are in Saudi Arabia and other ME places. My guess would be that all of their little shell companies are only there to funnel money back to terrorism. When will the governments start protecting their citizens ALL of the time?
This world is too small.................they can run................but they can't hide................we will fight them :
...................................................................AIR......SEA.....&....LAND...............................................................
VOTE.............................................................OBAMA/BIDEN 2012..................................................................
..................................................................KEEPING AMERICA SAFE....................................................................
Romney--Ryan--2012.. We have to have change ...change this time not the promise he made and forgot about hope and change and shovel ready jobs...what a big joke that was.
If Obama is reelected, you can be certain it will NOT be as a function of God's blessing. Unfortunately for America, Obama is about as far away from God as the east is from the west.
We are so doomed if he becomes the President again 8(
April 27 - Obama gives $192 million to the Palestinians against Congress's directive ... I wonder if that was some of our taxpayers money?
Thank you Obama, our debt just got 150 million smaller!
how come the BANKS are never charged with any wrong doing??? profit before anything else...or a gov't bailout when they screw up...
The true question is... what now becomes of the seized funds? Will it go to knock down the deficit? Will it roll over to the Defense Budget? Will it help pay for that Obamacare abomination? Or will it just wind up in some rich banker's off shore account?
What's is noticeably missing from this article is the known connection between Hezbollah & the Moslem Brotherhood. Although the Brotherhood is a Sunni led power and their primary military arm is Al Qaeda, over the last 4 years they have been crossing over with funding operations based out of their Qatar (where their "investment" fund and new "corporate offices" are based). Anyone that will help the Brotherhood establish itself as the predominant power figure head / governing body is receiving funding, especially militant / terror groups that share their hate for Israel & the United States and other European targets.
Of course since they went so far to intentionally avoid mentioning these facts they obviously left themselves no way to explain how Obama is aiding these terrorists not only in taking over the governments of sovereign Middle Eastern countries but here at home and even within his administration.
Sadly, I am willing to bet $50,000 not one single ignorant leftist half-wit that comes to the MSNBC Psyche Ward to post knows any of these realities ... heck, most sorry asssssss Republican Congressmen don't even know these things because they are too lazy to do their homework.
Truly alarming what is going on in this country right now...
I am amazed that the Authorities can find a paltry $150,000,000, in a Bank in a foreign land, but can't find a Nickel of the Money that disappeared on "Wall Street"
View...
They found the money. Right now it is lining the pockets of Obama campaign contributors!
I guess Mooch-elle wanted one more vacation before we throw and her sorry _ss husband out of office. 150 MILLION ought to just about cover it.
so why is our govt. not filling our prison system with the financial terriorst that are runing our banking system? not much news in that i guess.
The key word in this artical is SUSPECTED, and the rest of the artical is spectilative. Just as obama kills people with drones for being a suspected terrorist he takes peoples money for being a suspect.
Hopefully they have a strong case. That's a whole lotta bombs and bullets-worth.....
Good job; Our government is at work catching criminals, money laundereres etc.
In that case, we should lock up pretty much half of isreali population for fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, money dry cleaning (bernie madoff) and yes terorist activities (for killing innocent palestinians)...
The $150M will be quickly replaced by Iran. Meantine, they are busy killing each other in Syria and Lebanon.
Other than allowing the military to get rid of ben-Laden, this is the first positive thing that the Obama regime has done in its 3 and 1/2 years in power. Although it's probably just a drop in the bucket and more than likely Obama is collecting the funds for his re-election campaign, it's still a step in the right direction.
Abduhllah Abdullah...go back where ever it is you came from...we don't need or want your camel BS...your anti-American retoric against one of America's longest and strongest allies shows your colors and they are not red, white and blue!! If you hate us so much, just what the H....are you doing here...spying? Planning a Terriost plot....Hmmmmmmmmm
Hell, they buy more 7-11 money orders a week than that.
Or pay for a set of tires for a B2 bomber