Nour Samaha the Qatar freelance journalist has analyzed a pending legal action against the Lebanese Hezbollah that seeks to link the organization with drug related money laundering, finding the allegations wanting. In an article published on Aljazeera, Samaha states “The allegations span South American cocaine shipments, US-used car dealerships, money-laundering in West Africa, several money-exchange houses, and end up in a Lebanese bank. In December the US justice department filed a civil claim against certain assets both in Lebanon and in the United States in what is seen as the US government’s latest attack on Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia political movement… The in rem forfeiture complaint, filed in the district of New York with the aim of seeking almost half a billion dollars… However a close reading of the 65-page forfeiture complaint fails to provide concrete evidence of a Hezbollah-led operation aimed at procuring funds through money laundering… On numerous occasions the complaint highlights individuals as either being “members”, “operatives”, or “supporters” of Hezbollah, but fails to provide evidence of these alleged connections, or clarify what defines the characteristics of these terms.”
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