Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant recently issued an order to reveal a gold smuggling operation between Iran and Venezuela that finances Hezbollah's terrorist activities, while circumventing sanctions.
In a signed document, the minister revealed that tens of kilograms of gold were smuggled on a flight of the Iranian "Mahan Air" company, which is subject to American sanctions, from Venezuela to Europe and Syria. The money from the smuggled gold was transferred to Hezbollah.
It was reported that the smuggling network was uncovered during a joint effort by Israel's National Bureau of Terrorist Financing (NBCTF) and the Ministry of Defense, along with the Israel Police and the Tax Authority.
In the document, the names of a number of individuals involved in the smuggling operation were published, mainly Bader ad-Din Naimi Mousavi, an Iranian businessman who owns two real estate companies registered in Great Britain, "Lotus Universal" and "Strattonview Properties Limited", as well as the international trading company "Trading Acs", registered in Dubai.
Source: Asharq al-Awsat