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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Lebanese political leaders of exploiting the lack of transparency in the Lebanese economy to hide their self-enrichment while seeking to defend the rights of their people.
He said that despite his claims to the contrary, the Hezbollah terror group is as implicated in this hoax as other actors.
The minister explained that the United States has placed two Hezbollah-linked companies and a Hezbollah official on the sanctions list, namely Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction, as they are owned or controlled or managed by Hezbollah, which is a foreign terrorist organization classified by the United States. He also referred to the inclusion of Sultan Khalifa Asaad on the Sanctions List for being a leader or official in Hezbollah.
A statement issued by the US Secretary of State indicated that the two companies are among many companies affiliated with the Executive Council of Hezbollah, and the party has used these companies to conceal its economic activity and evade US sanctions.
Hezbollah cooperated with former Lebanese minister Youssef Fenianos to ensure that Arch and Mimar obtained contracts with the Lebanese government worth millions of dollars, and the two companies sent part of these funds to the Executive Council of Hezbollah.
It should be noted that the US Treasury classified Venianus on September 8 for abuse of his ministerial position to provide material support to Hezbollah. Arch Consulting was previously part of Jihad al-Binaa, a prominent construction company in Hezbollah identified by the United States in 2007 and still providing funds to the party.
The US State Department statement stated that Sultan Khalifa Asaad oversees ARK, Mimar, and other Hezbollah companies from his position as a member of the Hezbollah Executive Council, and Asaad coordinates directly with Hashem Safi al-Din, Chairman of the Council. Hezbollah executive, to direct the activities of ARK, Mimar and other Hezbollah companies.
Secretary Pompeo said in his statement that this scheme, which includes directing the contracts of political leaders to political allies and getting rich, is exactly the kind of corruption that the Lebanese people are protesting against.
He added that Hezbollah is exploiting Lebanon’s corrupt system like other parties and concluded that the Lebanese people deserve better than that, and the United States will continue to support their calls for an end to corruption and more responsive governance.
