Muhammad Bazzi
By Buba Gagigo
Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi has pleaded guilty to charges related to conspiring with U.S. persons to conduct illegal transactions involving a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The plea was entered in federal court in Brooklyn before United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry. Bazzi admitted to his role in the conspiracy and agreed to forfeit nearly $830,000 involved in the illicit transaction. He also faces deportation upon completing his sentence. If given the maximum sentence, Bazzi could face up to 20 years in prison.
Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Cheryl Ortiz, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s New Jersey Field Division, jointly announced the outcome. Peace commented on the gravity of the charges, stating, “Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct and to cause United States persons to conduct unlawful transactions with a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry. Bazzi also agreed to forfeit the nearly $830,000 that was involved in the illegal transaction, and to be removed from the United States upon completion of his sentence. When sentenced, Bazzi faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment,”
“Today, Specially Designated Global Terrorist Mohammad Bazzi accepted responsibility for his role in conspiring to secretly move hundreds of thousands of dollars from the United States to Lebanon in violation of sanctions placed on him for assisting the terrorist group Hizballah,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This outcome demonstrates our commitment to enforcing sanctions imposed to starve terrorism financiers of funds, and the stark consequences that will be enforced when they are ignored.”
During their announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that in May 2018, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Bazzi as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This designation was due to his role in assisting, sponsoring, and providing financial, material, and technological support to Hizballah, a foreign terrorist organization responsible for numerous terrorist activities since the 1980s, including attacks on American military personnel, government employees, and civilians abroad. According to OFAC, Bazzi is a key financier for Hizballah, having provided millions of dollars to the organization through his business activities in Belgium, Lebanon, Iraq, and West Africa. As a result, Bazzi’s interests in any U.S. property were blocked, and U.S. persons were generally prohibited from conducting business with him.
They further explained that following Bazzi’s designation, he and his co-defendant Talal Chahine, who remains at large in Lebanon, conspired to coerce a U.S. individual to liquidate their real estate assets in Michigan. They then covertly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars from the liquidation proceeds out of the United States to Bazzi and Chahine in Lebanon without the necessary OFAC licenses, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
During their announcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that in recorded communications, Bazzi and Chahine discussed various methods to hide from OFAC and law enforcement that Bazzi was both the source and recipient of the sale proceeds. They aimed to create the false impression that the U.S. individual was conducting legitimate transactions unrelated to Bazzi and Chahine. For instance, they suggested transferring the funds through a third party in China under the guise of purchasing restaurant equipment, a third party in Lebanon for a fictitious real estate purchase, Chahine’s family members in Kuwait as part of fake intra-family loans, and a fictitious franchising agreement for a Lebanese restaurant chain in the U.S.
Bazzi was arrested by Romanian law enforcement in February 2023 and subsequently extradited to the Eastern District of New York.
Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim Bazzi, of Lebanese origin, previously held a Gambian Diplomatic Passport No. 000129 due to his role as Consul General of The Gambia in Lebanon. He arrived in The Gambia around late 2000 to early 2001, invited by Mr. Terek Musa because of his involvement in the electricity power business. On October 13, 2017, he was declared a close associate of former President Jammeh.