Known Also As: Fenianos, Youssef; Fenyanus, Joseph; Finianos, Joseph; Finianos, Yusif
Country: Lebanon;
Address: Zgharta, Lebanon;
Born: 01 Jan 1964;
Nationality: Lebanon;
Activities:
Yusuf Finyanus is the former Minister of Transportation and Public Works (2016-2020). As of mid-2019, Hizballah used its relationship with officials in the Lebanese government, including Finyanus as Minister of Transportation and Public Works, to siphon funds from government budgets to ensure that Hizballah-owned companies won bids for Lebanese government contracts worth millions of dollars. In 2015, Hizballah gave Finyanus hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for political favors. Also in 2015, Finyanus met regularly with Wafiq Safa, whom the U.S. Treasury designated in 2019 for his leadership role in Hizballah’s security apparatus. Finyanus also helped Hizballah gain access to sensitive legal documents related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and served as a go-between for Hizballah and political allies. In addition to his activities supporting Hizballah, Finyanus engaged in corruption while in his position as Minister of Transportation and Public Works by diverting funds from the ministry to offer perks to bolster his political allies.
Yusuf Finyanus is being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.
The multi-layered crisis in Lebanon stems from decades of corruption and economic mismanagement. Some Lebanese political leaders have used backdoor deals and reliance on Hizballah for personal gain and gains for their political allies ahead of the needs of the Lebanese people. Since October 2019, popular, cross-sectarian protests across the country demanded political and economic reform in Lebanon. The protesters’ calls for “all of them, means all of them” demonstrates the seriousness of their desire for reform and to pull back the curtain on certain groups’ corruption, including Hizballah.
The Treasury Department continues to prioritize disruption of the full range of Hizballah’s illicit financial activity, and with this action has designated over 90 Hizballah-affiliated individuals and entities since 2017. OFAC took this action pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. Hizballah was designated by the Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in October 1997 and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to E.O. 13224 in October 2001.
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