Kuwait imposes new sanctions against Hezbollah and al-Qard al-Hassan
The Committee for 'the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions' under the Kuwaiti ministry decided Monday to add Hezbollah, the AQAH association, as well as three individuals, including a Lebanese man, Adel Mansour, the designated leader of AQAH whose assets have been frozen, to its list of sanctioned entities. The two other sanctioned individuals are of Somali and Tunisian nationality.
The Kuwaiti government has therefore called on all companies and financial institutions resident in the Gulf country to implement these measures and to cease all cooperation with any institution or person linked to Hezbollah.
Sanctions initiated in 2021
At least seven individuals of Lebanese nationality are now under sanctions for their alleged involvement in a network of financial channels between Lebanon and Kuwait serving Hezbollah. The first of these were named by the U.S. Treasury (OFAC) for such activities in September 2021.
Under U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2007, the AQAH association was targeted on July 14 by a circular from the Central Bank of Lebanon, formalizing the prohibition for all Lebanese banks and financial institutions from interacting with several entities linked to the pro-Iranian group.
In November 2024, Kuwait arrested 18 people on its territory on suspicion of economic links Hezbollah. Earlier that year, in September, the United States announced the implementation of other sanctions against a network accused of "oil counterfeiting" between Kuwait and Lebanon for the benefit of Haret Hreik.
This decision by Kuwaiti diplomacy is part of a long series of initiatives over the past months against Hezbollah's economic systems in Lebanon and internationally, in an effort to undermine any reconstruction of its financial resources.
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