FinCEN recently issued an Alert (FIN-2024-Alert003) to help institutions identify Iran-backed Lebanese militia and Hizballah funding. The Alert supplements FinCEN’s prior 2024 Advisory on Iran-Backed Terrorist organizations.
The Alert notes that, while Hizballah has recently begun using convertible virtual currencies to support their activities, it continues to rely primarily on bulk cash smuggling. Various red flag indicators for Hizballah financing are provided.
Institutions are to indicate “IRANTF-2024-A001” in SAR Field 2 (Note to FinCEN) and the Narrative. Field 33(a) for known or suspected terrorist-financing should also be selected. If a link to Hizballah is known or suspected, institutions are to indicate “Hizballah” in Field 33z. Institutions looking to expedite their report of this activity should call the Toll-free hotline at (866) 556-3974.
Published
2024/10/30