US blocks funds it links to Hizbollah

WASHINGTON, Sep 8 (Reuters) The United States froze the assets of two Lebanese financial companies it said were the ''unofficial treasury'' of the militant Hizbollah group.

A Treasury Department statement said Bayt al-Mal served as a bank, creditor and investment arm for Hizbollah, and used the Yousser Company for Finance and Investment to secure loans and finance business deals for Hizbollah's companies.

''Bayt al-Mal and the Yousser Company function as Hizbollah's unofficial treasury, holding and investing its assets and serving as intermediaries between the terrorist group and mainstream banks,'' said Stuart Levey, the Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence yesterday.

The statement said the Treasury had also blocked the assets of Husayn al-Shami, who it said was the head of Bayt al-Mal and a senior Hizbollah leader.

The Treasury's move prohibits US transactions with the designated entities and freezes any assets they may have under US jurisdiction.

Hizbollah, a militant religious political group, waged a 34-day war with Israel that ended August. 14.

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