NEW YORK: A dual U.S.-Lebanese citizen has been extradited from Paraguay and charged with supporting Hezbollah, United States officials said over the weekend.
Moussa Ali Hamdan, 38, appeared in court in Philadelphia following his extradition and has been charged with providing “material support to Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization,” the federal prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania said in a statement.
Hamdan was arrested by Paraguayan authorities June 15 on suspicion of supporting terrorism and was subsequently handed over to U.S. custody.
He is accused in the United States on 28 counts which include conspiring to supply Hezbollah with proceeds from the sale of counterfeit money and fake passports.
He also allegedly raised funds for Hezbollah through the sale of counterfeit electronics and leisure wear, such as Nike shoes.
If convicted on all charges, he faces a prison sentence of up to 260 years.
Diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks revealed that the U.S. embassy in Chile was concerned about Hezbollah fundraising in the Latin American country, and described a broader Islamist network in the so-called Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, the area where Hamdan was detained.