Washington: The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated ten individuals involved in a network facilitating cash transfers to Hizballah. This network uses couriers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE, and Iran, enabling Hizballah to access foreign currency outside the formal financial system and circumvent sanctions. Alongside this, Hizballah has been re-designated under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, today's action follows Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets entities posing terrorism risks to the U.S. Previously, Hizballah was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) and a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State. The IRGC-QF has also been similarly designated due to its support for multiple terrorist organizations, including Hizballah. The targeted Hizballah courier network is known for it s use of illegal financing methods, such as oil smuggling and bulk cash transfers. Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz oversees the network's operations, utilizing Turkey-based exchange houses as fronts. He and his associates, including couriers like Halil Ibrahim Kacmaz and Onder Dede, are designated for their support of the IRGC-QF. Other members, such as Vasfi Akyuz and Mehmet Acur, have been identified for their roles in supporting Hizballah. As a consequence of these designations, assets of the involved individuals within the U.S. are blocked, and transactions with them are prohibited unless authorized by OFAC. Violations of these sanctions can lead to civil or criminal penalties. OFAC's regulations extend to both U.S. and foreign entities, with potential secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions engaged with the designated individuals. The sanctions aim to induce behavioral change, reflecting OFAC's commitment to enforcing economic sanctions while allowing for the removal of individual s from the SDN List when consistent with the law.