A Canadian company has been sanctioned by the United States government over its connections to a $100-million network accused of funding Hezbollah.
The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Vancouver-based Seven Seas for International Trading and Logistics on Friday, as part of a move that targeted 16 individuals and entities led by Hezbollah financier and former public investment official Alaa Hassan Hamieh (Alaa Hamieh).
The Treasury said Alaa Hamieh owns multiple Hezbollah-associated companies, including Lebanon-based Seven Seas SAL Offshore, Seven Seas Group S.A.R.L, and others.
Seven Seas for International Trading and Logistics is the Canadian branch of Alaa Hamieh’s similarly named Lebanese companies. Its co-founder and CEO is Lebanese-Qatari national Raoof Fadel.
Fadel is sanctioned on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list by the Office of Foreign Assets Control on account of his involvement with Hezbollah and the financing of Hezbollah.
Seven Seas is sanctioned due to its association with Fadel and, thus, its connection to Hezbollah-related financial activity. All Seven Seas assets in the US are now frozen, and US persons and companies cannot do business with them.
Vancouver-based company sanctioned for Hezbollah links
Corporate records obtained by Global News show the sanctioned Seven Seas was registered in BC in 2022 and remains active. Its directors, Mohamad Wehbe and Ahmed Wehbe, have also been sanctioned by the US.
The company is not sanctioned in Canada.
A spokesperson for BC's Ministry of Finance told The Jerusalem Post that the ministry was not alerted to the situation prior to the US announcement, and that officials are reaching out to federal counterparts for comment.
"In the rare circumstances when a Canadian company is sanctioned by another country, Canadian authorities are typically alerted through federal agencies as sanctions and enforcement related to alleged terrorist financing fall under federal jurisdiction and law enforcement," the spokesperson said, adding that “Any next steps from the province would be informed by that engagement with our federal partners."
Hezbollah is a designated terrorist entity in Canada as per the Criminal Code, and has been since December 2002.
The Treasury Department has sanctioned 40 Canadian companies and individuals. However, only seven are on the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list. One is Samidoun, which is accused of ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.