US charges alleged Hezbollah financier with sanctions evasion

NEW YORK - US prosecutors on Tuesday charged Nazem Ahmad, an alleged financier of Lebanon's Hezbollah, with evading US sanctions imposed on him by exporting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of diamonds and artwork.

The US Treasury Department in 2019 sanctioned Ahmad for allegedly providing material support to Lebanon's Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization. The move was intended to cut off access for Ahmad and 11 businesses associated with him to the US financial system.

But federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Ahmad worked with three family members and five other associates to continue dealing in diamonds and artwork, while concealing Ahmad's involvement. One of the alleged co-conspirators, Sundar Nagarajan, was arrested on Tuesday in England.