U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday accused Nazim Ahmad of evading U.S. sanctions by exporting diamonds and artworks valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department identified a vast international money laundering network comprising 52 individuals and entities that assisted Nazim Ahmad in sidestepping U.S. sanctions. This network, which facilitated operations by paying for and shipping money, diamonds, gemstones, art, and luxury goods for Hezbollah’s financier, includes individuals in Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, and other countries.
The network employs both legal and illegal arrangements to compel participants to obtain fraudulent engineering certificates to manipulate diamond prices and taxes. It also uses aliases and illegal fraudulent documents to enable Ahmad to purchase or ship luxury items and expensive artworks from auction houses and galleries worldwide. The U.S. Treasury had imposed sanctions on Ahmad in 2019, accusing him of providing material support to Hezbollah. This action aims to prevent Ahmad and 11 companies linked to him from accessing the U.S. financial system.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn stated that Ahmad worked with three family members and five other associates to continue dealing in diamonds and artworks while concealing his involvement. Sunder Nagarajan, one of the alleged co-conspirators with Ahmad, was arrested in England on Tuesday. Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tae Johnson indicated that the investigation is "evidence of the unwavering commitment of the U.S. and U.K. governments to prevent art and diamond markets from becoming havens for illicit financial activity."
Prosecutors noted that Ahmad directly negotiated the sale of artworks with an artist in New York in 2021, asking him not to disclose his name. Subsequently, six paintings created by the artist, valued at approximately $200,000, were exported to a Lebanese company linked to Ahmad. The prosecutors added that Ahmad's associated entities participated in financial transactions totaling more than $440 million, all in violation of the sanctions, including importing goods worth $207 million to the United States and exporting shipments worth $234 million, mostly consisting of diamonds and artworks.
