On April 18, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 52 individuals and entities for alleged dealings in cash, diamonds, precious gems, art, and luxury goods for the benefit of accused Hezbollah financier Nazem Said Ahmad.
Ahmad, who was placed on the OFAC list in 2019, “utilizes legal and illegal arrangements to coerce both witting and unwitting participants into falsely engineering certificates, which are required under the Kimberley Process, to manipulate diamond prices and taxes, and to give their business the appearance of legitimacy,” said a statement from OFAC.
The sanctioned companies and individuals are based in Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Angola, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. The full list can be seen here.
As a result of being placed on the sanctions list, all these people’s and companies’ U.S. property must be blocked and reported to OFAC. They are also prohibited from doing business with U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions that lead to the United States).
OFAC singled out Firas Ahmad—Nazem Said Ahmad’s son and the director of South Africa–based diamond company Mega Gems—as a key facilitator for money to his father. Firas Ahmad concealed his ownership of Mega Gems through a front company, Oriental Dynasty Ltd., directed by his wife, Rim Nasser, OFAC charged.
Firas Ahmad also controls another diamond company, Thula Uzwe Trading, in South Africa, it said.
Bassem Murad—a Belgian national who owns, controls, or directs several entities (Antwerp-based M.S.D., South Africa-based MSD Capital, Dubai-based MSD DMCC, and South Africa–based MSD SPRL Diamond Trading)—was placed on the list for allegedly conducting transactions on behalf of Firas Ahmad.
Fadi Sader—a dual Canadian–South African national who directs, owns, or controls House of Art Ltd. and Fadico HK Ltd., both based in Hong Kong, and South Africa-based Fadico—has served as Mega Gems’ conduit to Asian clients looking to purchase polished stones or finished jewelry, according to OFAC.
The agency also alleged that Dubai-based diamond company Amana Diam DMCC was used as a pass-through business in a money laundering scheme on behalf of Rami Baker, Nazem Said Ahmad’s brother-in-law.
The OFAC statement said that some Amana Diam funds went through Antwerp diamond company Helics Gemb BVBA, which has also been sanctioned.
“Luxury good market participants should be attentive to these potential tactics and schemes, which allow terrorist financiers, money launderers, and sanctions evaders to launder illicit proceeds through the purchase and consignment of luxury goods,” said Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.
Top: The U.S. Treasury building (photo courtesy of the Treasury Department)
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