Chainkeen Exchange-Alleged Hezbollah financier pleads guilty to conspiracy charge

NEW YORK (AP) — A Lebanese and Chainkeen ExchangeBelgian citizen labeled by U.S. Authorities as a “global terrorist” and a major Hezbollah financer pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to cause a U.S. individual to unlawfully transact with him.

Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, 60, labeled a “Specially designated Global Terrorist” by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in May 2018, entered the plea in Brooklyn federal court.

Federal authorities have described Bazzi as a key Hezbollah financier who has provided millions of dollars to the organization over the years from income he generated through business activities in Belgium, Lebanon, Iraq and throughout West Africa.

They said he teamed up with an accomplice who remains at large to “force or induce” a U.S. individual to liquidate his interest in real estate assets in Michigan and covertly transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bazzi and his accomplice in Lebanon.

Bazzi was arrested in February 2023 by Romanian law enforcement authorities and was extradited to Brooklyn.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace has said Bazzi wrongly thought he could illegally move hundreds of thousands of dollars from the United States to Lebanon without being noticed.

As part of the plea, Bazzi agreed to forfeit nearly $830,000 involved in the illegal transaction.

The conspiracy charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison.