Exposed: Hezbollah uses Western Union to fund terrorist activities

Israel uncovered Western Union’s role as a vehicle for terrorism funding in 2017 when it exposed the “equip a mujahid” campaign. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

A campaign to raise funds to arm Hezbollah terrorists used Western Union and the money transfer platform Whish to secure money for the terror group.

The campaign was featured on the Qatari website Al-Araby Al-Jadid (The New Arab) with ads that said, “Lift your head high to the sky, and see where your support is,” referring to Hezbollah’s aerial weapons.

Readers are urged to donate money to the Islamic Resistance Support Organization (IRSO), which the US has designated as a terror group since 2006.

The IRSO holds a number of accounts in  Al-Qard al-Hassan (AQAH), which is Hezbollah’s pseudo-banking system that the IDF targeted.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the IRSO is asking donors to give money through Western Union and Whish (formerly WOO cash) as an alternative method of funding.

Whish has 900 branches across Lebanon and is owned by Syrian nationals.

According to its website, Whish offers domestic and international financial solutions, including money transfer services, currency exchange, e-wallets, and investments.

Israel uncovered Western Union’s role as a vehicle for terrorism funding in 2017 when it exposed the “equip a mujahid” campaign.

In response to questions about its platform being used to channel money to terrorists, Western Union said in a statement, “We take our regulatory and compliance responsibilities very seriously, including our role in the fight against terrorist financing. To that effect, we have programs in place that screen Western Union transactions against internal and government watch lists.”

Western Union added, “Our internal Financial Intelligence Unit pursues intelligence leads and analysis about a broad range of global terror groups. We remain committed to working closely with governments and law enforcement authorities to continue addressing terrorist financing activities.”

Whish Money cooperates with several companies across the globe, including Mastercard, US-based Ria Money Transfer and Sendwave, and UK-based Shift Transfer.