Ali Mohammed Kharroubi - Revision history

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	== Trading African Group ==		== Trading African Group ==

	[[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network\|FinCEN]] alleged that Kharroubi directed Kassem Rmeiti to create Trading African Group, or TAG, in Benin in February 2011 to continue payments for U.S. cars after the earlier disruptions. It said former Ellissa employees worked at TAG by autumn 2011 and Rmeiti paid Kharroubi about ~~30–40~~ percent of TAG’s profits. The claimed percentage concerns a business-profit share paid to Kharroubi, not a measured share delivered to [[Hezbollah]].<ref name="r5" />		[[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network\|FinCEN]] alleged that Kharroubi directed Kassem Rmeiti to create Trading African Group, or TAG, in Benin in February 2011 to continue payments for U.S. cars after the earlier disruptions. It said former Ellissa employees worked at TAG by autumn 2011 and Rmeiti paid Kharroubi about 30 - 40 percent of TAG’s profits. The claimed percentage concerns a business-profit share paid to Kharroubi, not a measured share delivered to [[Hezbollah]].<ref name="r5" />

	The finding attributed more than $1.7 million in payments to U.S. car dealers and exporters to TAG from March to October 2011. That total is distinct from its estimate of at least $1.7 million in Rmeiti services for Beninese and Lebanese clients from March 2011 to October 2012. FinCEN also dated the alleged replacement of Kharroubi by [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a Hezbollah funds-transfer facilitator to December 2011. The records describe different payment populations and a separate change of facilitator.<ref name="r5" />		The finding attributed more than $1.7 million in payments to U.S. car dealers and exporters to TAG from March to October 2011. That total is distinct from its estimate of at least $1.7 million in Rmeiti services for Beninese and Lebanese clients from March 2011 to October 2012. FinCEN also dated the alleged replacement of Kharroubi by [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a Hezbollah funds-transfer facilitator to December 2011. The records describe different payment populations and a separate change of facilitator.<ref name="r5" />

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			[[File:Ali Mohammed Kharroubi.jpg\|thumb\|upright=1.25\|alt=Shipowner: Abou Merhi Lines, Beirouth Operator: Abou Merhi Lines IMO : 7925273 MMSI : 371966000 Call sign : H8BG Type: Car carriers Builder: Sociedad Metallurgia Duro Felguera, Gijon, Spain Yard number:0159 Launch date:June 4, 1981 Date of completion:January 1982 Gross tonnage : 6461 t DWT : 2053 t Net tonnage : 1938 t Length overall: 109.51 m Breadth: 16.50 m Draught: 3.97 m Main engine: 1 Bazan/MAN Cartagena 6cyl diesel engine Speed:14,6 knots Cars: 750 Former names: Carbosco (until 1987), Lux Rover (until 1989), Olivia (until 2009), Mirvat 1 (until 2011)\|Vessel linked in the source record to the Ellissa shipping business; not a portrait of Kharroubi or evidence of illicit cargo. Photo: Piergiuliano Chesi ([https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:City_of_Sidon_IMO_7925273_02_@chesi.JPG Wikimedia Commons]), [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 CC BY 3.0].]]

	'''Ali Mohammed Kharroubi''' was named in U.S. Treasury’s January 2011 designation of the [[Ayman Joumaa]] drug-trafficking and money-laundering network. Treasury said he owned [[Ellissa Holding]], which controlled companies including a used-car subsidiary in Benin, and named him among people associated with designated money exchanges. In 2013, Treasury said it believed [[Hezbollah]] had replaced the designated [[Ellissa Exchange Company\|Ellissa Exchange]] owner with [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a facilitator for transfers of Hezbollah funds. That latter statement is an agency assessment, not an itemized account of Kharroubi’s transactions.<ref name="r1" /><ref name="r2" />		'''Ali Mohammed Kharroubi''' was named in U.S. Treasury’s January 2011 designation of the [[Ayman Joumaa]] drug-trafficking and money-laundering network. Treasury said he owned [[Ellissa Holding]], which controlled companies including a used-car subsidiary in Benin, and named him among people associated with designated money exchanges. In 2013, Treasury said it believed [[Hezbollah]] had replaced the designated [[Ellissa Exchange Company\|Ellissa Exchange]] owner with [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a facilitator for transfers of Hezbollah funds. That latter statement is an agency assessment, not an itemized account of Kharroubi’s transactions.<ref name="r1" /><ref name="r2" />

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	Contemporary reporting carried denials from the exchange houses targeted in 2013. Halawi said it complied with Lebanese requirements and maintained client and source-of-funds documents, while Rmeiti rejected the accusation and challenged the evidence. These responses qualify the agencies’ account of the replacement financial channels; they are not admissions by the Ellissa businesses or Kharroubi.<ref name="r6" />		Contemporary reporting carried denials from the exchange houses targeted in 2013. Halawi said it complied with Lebanese requirements and maintained client and source-of-funds documents, while Rmeiti rejected the accusation and challenged the evidence. These responses qualify the agencies’ account of the replacement financial channels; they are not admissions by the Ellissa businesses or Kharroubi.<ref name="r6" />

	[[Lebanese Canadian Bank\|LCB]]’s related case ended in a $102 million ~~civil~~ forfeiture, with the bank’s denial preserved in the agreement. The bank’s settlement and [[Hassan Ayash Exchange Company\|Hassan Ayash Exchange]]’s separate resolution did not settle every allegation against other participants. Treasury’s broader assessment that the [[Ayman Joumaa network\|Joumaa network]] benefited [[Hezbollah]] does not establish that every exchange-house payment was Hezbollah’s money.<ref name="r7" /><ref name="r8" /><ref name="r9" />		[[Lebanese Canadian Bank\|LCB]]’s related case ended in a $102 million [[Civil forfeiture]], with the bank’s denial preserved in the agreement. The bank’s settlement and [[Hassan Ayash Exchange Company\|Hassan Ayash Exchange]]’s separate resolution did not settle every allegation against other participants. Treasury’s broader assessment that the [[Ayman Joumaa network\|Joumaa network]] benefited [[Hezbollah]] does not establish that every exchange-house payment was Hezbollah’s money.<ref name="r7" /><ref name="r8" /><ref name="r9" />

	== Research interpretation ==		== Research interpretation ==

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	== Trading African Group ==		== Trading African Group ==

	FinCEN alleged that Kharroubi directed Kassem Rmeiti to create Trading African Group, or TAG, in Benin in February 2011 to continue payments for U.S. cars after the earlier disruptions. It said former Ellissa employees worked at TAG by autumn 2011 and Rmeiti paid Kharroubi about 30–40 percent of TAG’s profits. The claimed percentage concerns a business-profit share paid to Kharroubi, not a measured share delivered to [[Hezbollah]].<ref name="r5" />		[[Financial Crimes Enforcement Network\|FinCEN]] alleged that Kharroubi directed Kassem Rmeiti to create Trading African Group, or TAG, in Benin in February 2011 to continue payments for U.S. cars after the earlier disruptions. It said former Ellissa employees worked at TAG by autumn 2011 and Rmeiti paid Kharroubi about 30–40 percent of TAG’s profits. The claimed percentage concerns a business-profit share paid to Kharroubi, not a measured share delivered to [[Hezbollah]].<ref name="r5" />

	The finding attributed more than $1.7 million in payments to U.S. car dealers and exporters to TAG from March to October 2011. That total is distinct from its estimate of at least $1.7 million in Rmeiti services for Beninese and Lebanese clients from March 2011 to October 2012. FinCEN also dated the alleged replacement of Kharroubi by [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a Hezbollah funds-transfer facilitator to December 2011. The records describe different payment populations and a separate change of facilitator.<ref name="r5" />		The finding attributed more than $1.7 million in payments to U.S. car dealers and exporters to TAG from March to October 2011. That total is distinct from its estimate of at least $1.7 million in Rmeiti services for Beninese and Lebanese clients from March 2011 to October 2012. FinCEN also dated the alleged replacement of Kharroubi by [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a Hezbollah funds-transfer facilitator to December 2011. The records describe different payment populations and a separate change of facilitator.<ref name="r5" />

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	''Legal and sanctions status as of 18 September 2026.''		''Legal and sanctions status as of 18 September 2026.''

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Editor: New article: Ali Mohammed Kharroubi

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'''Ali Mohammed Kharroubi''' was named in U.S. Treasury’s January 2011 designation of the [[Ayman Joumaa]] drug-trafficking and money-laundering network. Treasury said he owned [[Ellissa Holding]], which controlled companies including a used-car subsidiary in Benin, and named him among people associated with designated money exchanges. In 2013, Treasury said it believed [[Hezbollah]] had replaced the designated [[Ellissa Exchange Company|Ellissa Exchange]] owner with [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a facilitator for transfers of Hezbollah funds. That latter statement is an agency assessment, not an itemized account of Kharroubi’s transactions.<ref name="r1" /><ref name="r2" />

== Identity and network record ==

Treasury named Kharroubi among individuals targeted for roles in three Lebanese money exchanges used by Joumaa’s organization to launder illicit proceeds. It identified him as the owner of [[Ellissa Holding]], a designated holding company with subsidiaries in Lebanon, Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 2011 release establishes the designation and ownership relationship; it does not specify the amount Kharroubi personally moved.<ref name="r1" />

In a [[Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act|Section 311]] announcement concerning Rmeiti and Halawi exchanges, Treasury said it believed [[Hezbollah]] had replaced U.S.-designated [[Ellissa Exchange Company|Ellissa Exchange]] owner Ali Kharroubi with [[Haitham Rmeiti]] of STE Rmeiti as a key facilitator for wiring and transferring Hezbollah funds. The language reports the agency’s belief about a change in facilitator. It does not establish that Kharroubi directed Joumaa’s cocaine operations or that every Ellissa business transaction financed Hezbollah.<ref name="r2" />

The 2013 Treasury release also referred to a U.S. civil money-laundering and forfeiture action naming Ali Mohamed Kharroubi and Elissa Exchange among the alleged participants. A Justice Department announcement of the [[Lebanese Canadian Bank]] settlement stated that the civil case continued against other alleged participants after the bank and [[Hassan Ayash Exchange Company|Hassan Ayash Exchange]] settled. Neither a civil allegation nor the 2011 designation should be described as Kharroubi’s criminal conviction.<ref name="r2" /><ref name="r3" />

Treasury said Ellissa Holding controlled nine companies in Lebanon, Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo, identifying Ellissa Group SA in Benin as a used-car seller. Ownership of the holding company and a role in Ellissa Exchange are distinct relationships; the release does not allocate Joumaa’s network-wide monthly laundering estimate to Kharroubi personally.<ref name="r1" />

== Ownership and transaction roles ==

The amended [[Lebanese Canadian Bank|LCB]] complaint named both Jamal Mohamad Kharoubi and Ali Mohammed Kharroubi as principal owners and controllers of [[Ellissa Holding]]. It distinguished the Sarafand exchange, the Cotonou car park owned by Ellissa Group SA and the shipping business. These are related entities with financial, sales and transport functions; their shared ownership does not make every company’s transfer a personal receipt by Ali Kharroubi.<ref name="r4" />

== Trading African Group ==

FinCEN alleged that Kharroubi directed Kassem Rmeiti to create Trading African Group, or TAG, in Benin in February 2011 to continue payments for U.S. cars after the earlier disruptions. It said former Ellissa employees worked at TAG by autumn 2011 and Rmeiti paid Kharroubi about 30–40 percent of TAG’s profits. The claimed percentage concerns a business-profit share paid to Kharroubi, not a measured share delivered to [[Hezbollah]].<ref name="r5" />

The finding attributed more than $1.7 million in payments to U.S. car dealers and exporters to TAG from March to October 2011. That total is distinct from its estimate of at least $1.7 million in Rmeiti services for Beninese and Lebanese clients from March 2011 to October 2012. FinCEN also dated the alleged replacement of Kharroubi by [[Haitham Rmeiti]] as a Hezbollah funds-transfer facilitator to December 2011. The records describe different payment populations and a separate change of facilitator.<ref name="r5" />

== Individual and company wires ==

The complaint’s ARZ Export table separately listed one $84,968 wire attributed to Ali Kharoubi, four [[Ellissa Exchange Company|Ellissa Exchange]] wires totaling $215,446 and 23 [[Ellissa Holding|Ellissa Group]] wires totaling $1,327,474. The table covered records linked to purchasing or shipping used cars. Its separate originator rows should not be collapsed into an individual total for Kharroubi, nor treated as a ledger of his income or [[Hezbollah]] payments.<ref name="r4" />

== Responses and separate outcomes ==

Contemporary reporting carried denials from the exchange houses targeted in 2013. Halawi said it complied with Lebanese requirements and maintained client and source-of-funds documents, while Rmeiti rejected the accusation and challenged the evidence. These responses qualify the agencies’ account of the replacement financial channels; they are not admissions by the Ellissa businesses or Kharroubi.<ref name="r6" />

[[Lebanese Canadian Bank|LCB]]’s related case ended in a $102 million civil forfeiture, with the bank’s denial preserved in the agreement. The bank’s settlement and [[Hassan Ayash Exchange Company|Hassan Ayash Exchange]]’s separate resolution did not settle every allegation against other participants. Treasury’s broader assessment that the [[Ayman Joumaa network|Joumaa network]] benefited [[Hezbollah]] does not establish that every exchange-house payment was Hezbollah’s money.<ref name="r7" /><ref name="r8" /><ref name="r9" />

== Research interpretation ==

Noam Binstok, Orna Mizrahi and Esteban Klor’s May 2026 INSS analysis describes trade, currency exchange and informal settlement as interacting mechanisms. The model helps explain why ownership, commercial sales and financial intermediaries appear together in the Ellissa records. It does not allocate every company payment to its owner, establish the origin of every sale or determine the amount ultimately received by [[Hezbollah]].<ref name="r10" />

== See also ==
* [[Hezbollah Business Affairs Component]]
* [[Lebanese Canadian Bank]]

== References ==
<references>
<ref name="r1">[https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/tg1035 Treasury, Joumaa network designation, January 2011]</ref>
<ref name="r2">[https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jl1908 Treasury, Rmeiti and Halawi action, April 2013]</ref>
<ref name="r3">[https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nys/pressreleases/June13/LCBSettlementPR.php DOJ, LCB settlement, June 2013]</ref>
<ref name="r4">[https://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/June13/LCBSettlementPR/U.S.%20v.%20Lebanese%20Canadian%20Bank%2C%20et%20al.%20Amended%20Complaint.pdf United States v Lebanese Canadian Bank et al., amended civil complaint]</ref>
<ref name="r5">[https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2013/04/25/2013-09783/notice-of-finding-that-kassem-rmeiti-and-co-for-exchange-is-a-financial-institution-of-primary-money FinCEN, Rmeiti Exchange finding, April 2013]</ref>
<ref name="r6">[https://www.albawaba.com/business/lebanon-money-changer-487228 The Daily Star / Al Bawaba, exchange-house responses, April 2013]</ref>
<ref name="r7">[https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/tg1057 Treasury / DOJ, related LCB proceedings]</ref>
<ref name="r8">[https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-102-million-settlement-civil-forfeiture-and-money Treasury / DOJ, related LCB proceedings]</ref>
<ref name="r9">[https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-sdny/legacy/2015/03/25/U.S.%20v.%20Lebanese%20Canadian%20Bank%20Settlement%20Order.pdf LCB settlement agreement and denial]</ref>
<ref name="r10">[https://www.inss.org.il/publication/hezbollah-finance/ Hezbollah’s Global Financial Network as a Target in the War Against the Organization]</ref>
</references>

''Legal and sanctions status as of 18 September 2026.''

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Ayman Joumaa case]]