By Rim Zrein — the961.com —A hacker group called “SpiderZ” hacked into the servers and cameras of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, Hezbollah’s financial institution. It collected data and is beginning to leak them to the public and promising to publish additional details later. They exposed the names of senior depositors along with other details from the database. Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association was established by Hezbollah in the 1980s, and it is the right hand of the party. Licensed by the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior in 1987, the Hezbollah bank has 32 branches throughout Lebanon, and declares itself a charity association that provides financial assistance to the Shiite population in Lebanon.
However, even though Al-Qard Al-Hassan is registered as a charity in Lebanon, it appears to run as a financial institution in every possible aspect, providing various financial services to its clients, including loans. Information obtained from The Double Cheque quotes that the association’s annual loans are close to $500 million, its annual profits are close to $20 million, its deposit reserves are worth over $300 million, and it holds 15 tons of gold worth around $500 million. And 0 tax payment, contributing nil to the Lebanese economy.
The association confirmed to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Ahed website that the breach has in fact occurred. According to Al-Ahed website, Al-Qard Al-Hassan stressed that “this breach does not give the attackers the ability to act or move the accounts.” In the video posted by the “Spiderz” group on their website, the hackers explicitly state that they have successfully managed to get hold of all of Hezbollah’s bank information, and confirm that Al-Qard Al-Hassan is not a charity, but a covert financial shelter for Hezbollah.
“Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association is no longer a secret. The association does not operate according to the international standards accepted in the financial market, which are designed to protect the people,” the Spiderz group of hackers said. “If you have a debt to pay for Al-Qard Al-Hassan, don’t pay it. Stop letting them embezzle you, and take out all your money from the bank before it turns into ink on a paper,” they advised, addressing the bank’s depositors. Some of the information leaked are passport copies, names of depositors, including senior officials, as well as security footage pictures of depositors waiting in line. According to the leaks, local banks that are working with Qard Al-Hassan through accounts in different branches include Jammal Trust Bank (JTB), which was sanctioned in 2019 due to its activities linked directly to Hezbollah.
Other banks that deal with the Hezbollah association, also according to the leaks, are the Lebanese Canadian Bank, MEAB Bank, Lebanese Swiss Bank, Fenicia Bank, Société Générale Bank, Kuwait and the Arab World Bank, as well as Credit Libanais Bank, Lebanon and the Gulf Bank, Byblos Bank, and Misr Lebanon Bank. The fact that so many banks, especially in Lebanon, are working with the Al-Qard Al-Hassan association contradicts what was previously announced by the Secretary-General of the party, Hassan Nasrallah, that the party has no accounts in banks.
To the attention of the depositors and those whose names were leaked as dealing with that bank/association/charity, Double Cheque wrote the following on their website: “If your name or details appear on the leaked lists, you will be investigated by enforcement authorities in Lebanon or other countries, and, based on your function, you may also be of interest to the U.S. Treasury and Trade Department for your involvement in the association that was designated by the U.S. Treasury as an entity that aids terror funding (SDGT) in 2007, and activity you carried out through it.” “Pulling your money and assets out of Al-Qard Al-Hassan can help you reduce your ties with the association and reduce the risk to you, your money, and your assets,” they added.
