Hezbollah Supporters Targeted in Africa

By Matthew Levitt

Following earlier designations targeting Hezbollah networks in South America, the U.S. Treasury designated today two Hezbollah supporters based in Africa. The action is significant, given that Hizballah operatives in Africa raise and launder significant sums of money, recruit local operatives, collect preoperational intelligence, and support the organization's terrorist activities against Israeli, U.S., and other Western interests.

According to information released by the Treasury Department:

Kassim Tajideen is an important financial contributor to Hizballah who operates a network of businesses in Lebanon and Africa. He has contributed tens of millions of dollars to Hizballah and has sent funds to Hizballah through his brother, a Hizballah commander in Lebanon. In addition, Kassim Tajideen and his brothers run cover companies for Hizballah in Africa. In 2003, Tajideen was arrested in Belgium in connection with fraud, money laundering, and diamond smuggling.

Tajideen is well known to law enforcement officials. According to a 2007 Greenpeace report:

One of the companies managed by the Tajideen family has a history of allegations of money laundering. In May 2003, following a four month international investigation by Belgium’s Economic Crimes Unit, judicial police raided the Antwerp offices of Soafrimex, managed by Kassim Tajideen, arrested several of its officials and froze its bank accounts.158 The company was accused of ‘large-scale tax fraud, money laundering and trade in diamonds of doubtful origin, to the value of tens of millions of euros’. In December 2003, Belgian authorities informed the Congolese embassy in Brussels that investigations undertaken in the DRC had shown that the company systematically undervalued its imports, shipping and insurance costs and that it filed false customs declarations.

Also designated today was Abd Al Menhem Qubaysi, a Hezbollah supporter based in Cote d'Ivoire who functions, according to information released by the Treasury Department, as “the personal representative of Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.” The Treasury statement continues:

Qubaysi communicates with Hizballah leaders and has hosted senior Hizballah officials traveling to Cote d'Ivoire and other parts of Africa to raise money for Hizballah. Qubaysi plays a visible role in Hizballah activities in Cote d'Ivoire, including speaking at Hizballah fundraising events and sponsoring meetings with high-ranking members of the terrorist organization. Qubaysi also helped establish an official Hizballah foundation in Cote d'Ivoire which has been used to recruit new members for Hizballah's military ranks in Lebanon.

Africa has long been a hub of Hezbollah activity, including not only fundraising but operational planning as well. In 2003 Israeli intelligence officials warned of a Hizballah plot to kidnap Israeli businessmen and diplomats in Africa. The warning included both general threat information related to Hizballah activity in the Horn of Africa (especially Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania) as well as detailed intelligence identifying at least one specific diplomat as a target. According to Israeli officials, the warnings came from a number of sources and were given extra attention in light of threats by Hizballah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah to "work day and night to abduct more and more Israelis" if a negotiated prisoner swap then being negotiated through the Germans was not concluded. Commenting on the kidnapping threat, Israeli officials told local media that they considered the Horn of Africa "particularly sensitive" to Hizballah activity, adding, "For Hizballah, Africa constitutes a very comfortable base of operations. On the one hand, there is a strong base for extremist Islamic groups there, and on the other hand, the local security forces and intelligence agencies are very lenient."

Similar threat reporting has resurfaced in the wake of the assassination of Hezbollah chief of external operation, Imad Mughniyeh, focused on plots to kidnap Israeli officials or businessmen in Africa and Europe. In August 2008 the counterterrorism bureau within the Israeli National Security Council warned Israeli nationals living in Africa of a specific warning of a pending Hezbollah attack targeting Israelis in Africa. A few weeks later, senior Israeli officials confirmed that two attempts by Hezbollah operatives to kidnap Israeli citizens abroad had recently been thwarted. Warning were also issued in April 2009 to Israeli business people traveling to Europe in response to what was described as "pinpoint" intelligence of a specific threat.

Africa is also becoming an area of concern regarding terrorist groups engaged in drug trafficking. According to Southcom Commander Admiral Stavridis, drug traffickers have expanded their presence in West Africa as a "springboard to Europe." Hezbollah has long maintained a strong presence in Africa, and has utilized Africa as a strategic point to from which to raise and transfer funds and to engage in criminal enterprises, such as diamond smuggling. INTERPOL Secretary General Ron Noble recently highlighted this trend as well, noting that “recently, authorities have dismantled cocaine-trafficking rings that used their proceeds to finance the activities of the FARC and Hezbollah, while drugs destined for European markets are increasingly being channeled through West African countries.”

Today’s designation is a welcome response to the growing presence of Hezbollah support networks in Africa. Tajideen and Qubaysi are both indicative of the tendency of Hezbollah supporters to raise funds for Hezbollah through illicit activities ranging from exploitation of charities to involvement in blood diamonds to fraud, money laundering and more. Such activities, while extremely lucrative, expose participants to law enforcement scrutiny and present a rare opportunity for public action to counter their activities. Expect further actions such as this one as law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world continue to crack down on Hezbollah’s illicit support networks worldwide.