On September 17, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two companies, Arch Consulting and Meamar Construction, as well as Sultan Khalifah As’ad, a Hizballah Executive Council official who is closely associated with both companies. The designations were made pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended by EO 13886, which targets terrorists and those who support acts of terrorism. Lebanon-based Arch and Meamar are two of multiple companies that, due to their privately owned appearance, are used by Hizballah’s Executive Council to conceal money transfers in order to help the group evade US sanctions. As’ad, who is listed as the founder of Meamar, has served as the deputy to the Executive Council Chairman of Hizballah, and has been a senior official for Hizballah’s central municipal portfolio since at least 2011.
As a result of these designations, all US property belonging to the designated persons or entities is blocked, and all transactions and dealings with them are generally prohibited. In addition, any entity in the US that is owned fifty percent or more by a sanctioned person or entity is also blocked, and persons who transact with a designated person or entity may themselves be exposed to sanctions.