US Acts Against Groups Aiding Hezbollah

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Bush administration took action Tuesday against an Iran-based foundation, including its U.S. branch, for allegedly providing support to the terrorist group Hezbollah.

The Treasury Department’s action covers the Martyrs Foundation and Goodwill Charitable Organization of Dearborn, Mich., which the government identified as a fundraising office for the foundation.

“We will not allow organizations that support terrorism to raise money in the United States,” said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

FBI agents removed boxes from the Goodwill Charitable Organization’s Dearborn office on Tuesday.

Dawn Clenney, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Detroit, said members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force executed a series of search warrants. No arrests were made, she said.

About a mile away, FBI agents were seen inside the office of the al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization, which was not named in Treasury’s order.
“There is no known threat to U.S. homeland security” regarding the searches, Clenney said.

FBI agents seized files, paperwork and financial records from both organizations, said William J. Kowalski, FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Detroit office.

Goodwill Charitable Organization has no connection to Goodwill Industries, a major U.S. charity.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department moved against al-Qard al-Hassan, a Beirut firm that the U.S. government believes was used by Hezbollah “as a cover to manage its financial activity.”

Two Lebanese people – Qasem Aliq and Ahmad al-Shami – were covered by Treasury’s order.

The U.S. identified Aliq as a Hezbollah official who was once the director of the Martyrs Foundation’s branch in Lebanon. The U.S. says he is a director of Jihad al Bina, a Lebanon-based construction company allegedly formed and operated by Hezbollah.

Al-Shami had worked for the foundation in Lebanon and has been in frequent contact with the Goodwill Charitable Organization, the department said. Goodwill Charitable Organization sent him money to distribute to the Martyrs Foundation, the department said.

The Treasury Department’s action means that any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the United States that belong to those identified Tuesday must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with them.

There was no telephone listing for Goodwill Charitable Organization.

The department called Goodwill Charitable Organization, or GCO, a Hezbollah front organization that reports directly to the leadership of the Martyrs Foundation in Lebanon.

“Hezbollah recruited GCO leaders and had maintained close contact with GCO representatives in the United States,” the department alleged.

Unlike Goodwill Charitable Organization, which was closed down by the FBI following Tuesday’s search, al-Mabarrat remained open, Kowalski said.

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