USA v. TAJIDEEN (or U.S. Department of the Treasury v. Hizballah)

On January 18, 2019, at 2PM, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is expected to meet at Courtroom 16 on the 6th Floor of the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse located at Third Street and Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C., for the purpose of sentencing criminal case N0. 17-cr-0046 (USA v. TAJIDEEN).

Background

On February 15, 2018, the U.S. charged Kassim Tajideen with the federal offenses of

(1) conspiracy to conduct unlawful transactions and cause United States persons to conduct unlawful transactions with a Specially-Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), and to defraud the United States by dishonest means;

(2) nine unlawful transactions with a SDGT and aiding and abetting and causing an act to be done; and

(3) conspiracy to commit money laundering.

In short, Tajideen was charged with allegedly “continuing to conduct business with United States entities through a large network of businesses with ever-changing names run by a relatively small group of personnel, effectively hiding his own involvement in the transactions,” despite his designation as an SDGT by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

On December 6, 2018, Tajideen pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Lebanese citizen Kassim Tajideen, 63, was designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in May 2009 pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 as a result of his provision of significant financial support to Hizballah, which was named a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State. This designation prohibited Tajideen from being involved in or benefiting from transactions, involving U.S. persons or companies without a license from the Department of the Treasury.

Tajideen has been detained since extradition to the United States in March 2017 after his arrest overseas.

Terms of the plea

In the statement of facts signed by Tajideen in conjunction with his plea, Tajideen admits that, after his designation, he conspired with at least five other persons to conduct over $50 million in transactions with U.S. businesses that violated the abovementioned prohibitions. Tajideen also admits that, with his co-conspirators, he knowingly engaged in transactions outside of the United States, which involved transmissions of as much as $1 billion through the United States financial system from places outside the United States.

The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 60 months in prison and calls for Tajideen to pay $50 million as a criminal forfeiture in advance of his sentencing.

The entry into effect of the plea signed by Tajideen is pending the U.S. District Court’s approval.

Connections to Hizballah

Tajideen’s case falls under the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Project Cassandra, which targets Hizballah’s global support network that operates as a logistics, procurement and financing arm for Hizballah.

This investigation is part of the Department of Justice’s Hizballah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team (HFNT), a component of the Department’s Transnational Organized Crime initiative. The HFNT was formed in January 2018 to ensure an aggressive and coordinated approach to prosecutions and investigations, including Project Cassandra cases, targeting the individuals and networks supporting Hizballah. Comprised of experienced international narcotics trafficking, terrorism, organized crime, and money laundering prosecutors and investigators, the HFNT works closely with partners like the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to facilitate prosecutions of Hizballah and its support network.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of the Treasury targeted Hizballah’s financial network by designating Hizballah fundraisers Ali Tajideen and Husayn Tajideen for providing support to Hizballah. The designed persons are the brothers and business partners of Kassim Tajideen. The action also targeted a network of businesses that are owned or controlled by the Tajideen brothers operating in Gambia, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and the British Virgin Islands.

What’s next?

In the war between the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Hizballah, the prospective ruling of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will be a determining factor.

The answer to whether the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will, or will not, approve the plea agreement signed by Tajideen will be given on January 18, 2019 after the sentencing of criminal case N0. 17-cr-0046 (USA v. TAJIDEEN).

Sources: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. OFAC. DOJ.