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Before the outbreak of the financial crisis in the fall of 2019, Hezbollah was already using its control of the Ministry of Health to coordinate with pharmacies in southern Lebanon, Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut, with the aim of providing its staff and employees medicines at low prices.
But since then, many of these pharmacies have suffered from the inability of the Health Ministry to pay their expenses and from a shortage of medicines that began when importers could no longer access foreign exchange, according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
And Hezbollah began using US dollars to buy financially distressed pharmacies, especially those located in major southern cities such as Tire and Nabatiyeh. Hezbollah then flooded its pharmacies and health care centers with Syrian and Iranian drugs smuggled across the border and through the airport.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has established a new chain of grocery stores, dubbed “Al-Nour Stores,” and opened three branches in the south, two in Bekaa and two in the suburb of Beirut. Each branch is full of Iranian and Syrian products, which are sold at lower prices than imported products in competing stores. By entering this sector, Hezbollah will be able to make a profit in Lebanese pounds, which it can then convert into US dollars on the black market, according to the institute.
In addition, Hezbollah has established for its members and employees a new social security system with a “Sajid Card” that can be used to buy goods and obtain discounts at “al-Nour shops”.
In addition to generating additional profits, this part of Hezbollah’s strategy is designed primarily to keep the Shiite community in check. The country’s socio-economic structure can quickly collapse once the subsidy is completely stopped, according to the institute.
Of note, when Lebanese banks began ending withdrawals in US dollars in October 2019 and imposing informal capital controls, many depositors decided to withdraw as much dollar as possible. Since then, the Lebanese have withdrawn an estimated $ 6 billion in cash from banks, and Hezbollah has sought to profit from this unofficial public cash reserve.
Among the tactics he has resorted to, he has encouraged people to use their financial institutions to change and deposit their money, especially the Al-Qard al-Hassan Foundation, which the United States has classified as a terrorist list and has become in Hezbollah’s main banking center and the alternative to banking for its Shiite constituency.
Notably, the “Al-Qard Al-Hassan” Foundation recently installed ATMs at its branches in the southern suburbs of Beirut, allowing residents of the region, according to some reports, to receive cash payments and loans from Hezbollah without restrictions imposed on other banks, according to the institute. This arrangement also allows it to set its own rules and make its own deals, in addition to strengthening Hezbollah’s economy and its parallel financial system.
In the future, Hezbollah hopes to restore access to hard currency, especially to the large sums of cash that arrived from Tehran before the sanctions. If this happens, Hezbollah aims to be the only party in Lebanon that has large sums of US dollars, and thus transform the institution of “Good Loan” into the only viable banking system in the country, according to the institute.
To that, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy pointed out that even if the party was able to make up for national shortcomings by providing its supporters with some food, household items and medicines from Iran and Syria, this plan does not cover other urgent national needs. such as electricity, Internet service, and hospitalization. , And work. The Shiites felt the rapid decline in their standard of living.
He added that Hezbollah’s internal financial crisis limited its access to foreign exchange. This creates serious financial and social gaps between the party’s civilian and military employees.
