BREAKING NEWS

Alleged Hezbollah financier expected to plead guilty in US sanctions case

A dual Lebanese-Belgian citizen accused by the United States of financing Lebanese terror group Hezbollah is expected to plead guilty in a criminal case charging him with sanctions evasion and money-laundering conspiracies.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said in a court filing on Thursday that lawyers for Mohammad Bazzi told them he wishes to change his plea. Bazzi, 60, pleaded not guilty last year to three felony counts, including attempting to transact with a sanctioned terrorist organization.

Bazzi's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US Treasury Department placed Bazzi on its sanctions list in 2018 over his alleged ties to Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization.