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Funds for Hezbollah’s Arsenal Allegedly Funneled Through Western Union & Lebanon’s Whish Money Network
Edited by: Fern Sidman
A recent investigation by The Jerusalem Post has raised concerns about Western Union’s potential indirect involvement in Hezbollah’s funding of its aerial weapons arsenal, a claim that draws attention to the complexity of global financial networks intertwined with terrorist organizations. According to sources familiar with the issue, Western Union’s services, along with Lebanese-based Whish Money (formerly WOO Cash), were reportedly employed by Hezbollah to funnel donations gathered through a targeted online campaign. This campaign, launched in May, calls for contributions to support Hezbollah’s procurement of drones and rockets aimed at targeting Israel.
As The Jerusalem Post detailed, Hezbollah’s call for support was extensively promoted on the Qatari website Al-Araby Al-Jadid (The New Arab). The campaign featured a slogan encouraging supporters to “lift [their] head high to the sky, and see where [their] support is,” referencing the organization’s development of an aerial arsenal. Supporters were directed to the Islamic Resistance Support Organization (IRSO, also known as Islamic Resistance Support Association or IRSA), which is classified by U.S. law as a terrorist organization. Since 2006, the IRSO has operated under sanctions in the U.S., with its financing managed by Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), Hezbollah’s financial arm and a designated terrorist financing entity since 2007. AQAH’s institutions have recently come under attack by the IDF in its broader mission to disrupt Hezbollah’s financial network.
Hosein Mortada, a Lebanese media figure with notable ties to Iranian and Syrian state media channels, promoted Hezbollah’s campaign on the social media platform X, potentially indicating broader coordination within the Iran-aligned loyalist axis in the region, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The involvement of Whish Money and Western Union in facilitating donations to Hezbollah’s campaign presents complex regulatory challenges. Whish Money, a Lebanese financial services company with over 900 branches, has been linked to Hezbollah’s financial ecosystem through IRSO’s use of its money-transfer services. Owned by Syrian nationals, Whish Money offers international financial services, including currency exchanges, e-wallets, and investment services, as outlined by The Jerusalem Post.
Central to the campaign is Mahmoud Ali Al-Haj Hassan, a Lebanese native from Baalbek with accounts in AQAH and a history of public support for Hezbollah on social media. Mahmoud is related to Hussein Ali Alhaj Hassan, a former Lebanese parliament member and minister for Hezbollah, who also holds multiple accounts with AQAH. The familial and organizational ties of these figures further illustrate how Hezbollah’s financial operations are supported and reinforced by its network of affiliates, both formally and informally.
The report in The Jerusalem Post indicated the ongoing challenges in regulating international money transfers, as financial firms face scrutiny regarding the potential misuse of their services by sanctioned entities. Western Union, a globally recognized money transfer service, and Whish Money, deeply rooted in Lebanon’s financial landscape, are implicated in enabling transactions linked to Hezbollah’s illicit financial network, raising questions about regulatory oversight and the need for enhanced due diligence in regions with strong Hezbollah influence.
A newly developed Israeli technology system has played a key role in recent research identifying connections between Hezbollah, Western Union, and Whish Money. This technology has allowed authorities to trace the activities of Hezbollah affiliates, such as the Hassan family, revealing connections to accounts that appear integral to Hezbollah’s financial network. The Jerusalem Post report explained that these accounts, held within Hezbollah’s Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), contribute to a broader network supporting the organization’s operations, including its acquisition of weapons and financial backing for militant campaigns.
This is not the first time that Western Union’s potential role in funding Hezbollah has surfaced. In 2017, its services were used in Hezbollah’s “equip a mujahid” campaign, prompting scrutiny over how money transfer services might be leveraged by terrorist organizations. Despite these allegations, a Western Union spokesperson emphasized the company’s commitment to compliance and regulatory standards. The spokesperson affirmed that Western Union actively screens transactions against government watch lists, has implemented a Financial Intelligence Unit dedicated to counter-terrorism financing, and cooperates closely with governments and law enforcement to disrupt financial flows to terror groups. However, as The Jerusalem Post report pointed out, questions remain regarding the effectiveness of these compliance efforts, particularly in high-risk regions.
Whish Money, an increasingly controversial player in this network, is owned by Toufic Adnan Koussa, a Syrian national who became a Lebanese citizen during the administration of former Lebanese president Émile Lahoud. While the Bank of Lebanon has approved Whish Money as a legitimate financial service provider, The Jerusalem Post report indicated that reports from other media outlets, including Now Lebanon, have cast doubts on the company’s practices. For example, a 2022 exposé by Geneva-based Lebanese investment banker Samara Azzi unveiled some “dubious characteristics” in Whish Money’s operations, highlighting concerns around data security and its relationship with Lebanese banks.
According to Azzi’s report, Whish Money circumvented the Lebanese banking system by offering companies and NGOs a fee-free service for disbursing employee salaries. This model has allowed Whish to avoid conventional banking channels while potentially gaining access to large amounts of personal and employee data without clear regulation. The extent and purpose of this data collection remain opaque, raising concerns about who has access to this information and how it may be used, as The Jerusalem Post report emphasized.
Whish Money’s partnerships with global companies such as Mastercard, Ria Money Transfer, Sendwave, and Shift Transfer further complicate the picture. These associations suggest that Whish Money, despite operating outside Lebanon’s central banking framework, has established itself as a legitimate global financial services provider. Yet the concerns raised in The Jerusalem Post report and others highlight the precarious line Whish Money walks between regulatory compliance and its connections to Hezbollah’s financial network.
According to research by Lebanese investment banker Samara Azzi, published in The Jerusalem Post, Whish Money enjoys a unique position within Lebanon’s financial landscape, with insiders at the Lebanese Finance Ministry purportedly providing the company priority over traditional banking options. Witnesses reported to The Jerusalem Post that when attempting to make payments at the ministry, citizens were frequently redirected to local Whish Money branches. Allegedly, ministry cashiers collected unofficial “tips” or “salaries” from Whish Money, hinting at an informal arrangement that places Whish Money in a powerful position within Lebanon’s cash economy.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy echoed these concerns in a June 2023 report, labeling Whish Money as a key player in Lebanon’s unregulated financial system. As The Jerusalem Post report highlighted, Whish Money is accused of conducting large-scale money laundering operations, allegedly on behalf of Hezbollah, which relies on untraceable cash flows to bypass international sanctions. Hezbollah, severely affected by economic sanctions, is reportedly one of the only entities in Lebanon that could require this level of money laundering infrastructure, which bolsters its ability to operate as a parallel state within Lebanon. Analysts cited by The Jerusalem Post and the Washington Institute suggested that the scale of transactions and cash movements processed by Whish Money could be part of a larger scheme to facilitate Hezbollah’s operations.
In the wake of Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis, Hezbollah has not only sustained its operations but has also expanded its influence in the private sector. The Washington Institute report, as referenced by The Jerusalem Post, details how Hezbollah has increasingly exploited Lebanon’s collapsing economy, benefiting from the rise of a non-regulated cash economy that circumvents traditional banking systems. Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), Hezbollah’s financial institution, plays a significant role in this ecosystem. AQAH has reportedly channeled billions of dollars from remittances, exchange companies, and Iraqi sources, creating a quasi-banking system outside the oversight of Lebanon’s deteriorating financial institutions. This system, according to The Jerusalem Post, has effectively allowed Hezbollah to establish a parallel financial infrastructure, further destabilizing Lebanon’s formal economy while enabling its operations to flourish.
With Hezbollah benefiting from Lebanon’s cash economy and financial turmoil, international observers and policy experts have raised alarms. The Washington Institute has recommended targeting Whish Money and its stakeholders under global anti-money laundering regulations, emphasizing the urgency of addressing Hezbollah’s financial autonomy. This appeal underscores the broader implications of Hezbollah’s financial maneuvering, which affects not only Lebanon’s stability but also regional security.
