By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Lebanese-Belgian national accused by the United States of financing the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah will plead guilty in a criminal case that accuses him of sanctions evasion and money laundering conspiracy.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors said in a court filing Thursday that Mohammad Bazzi’s attorneys have told them he wants to change his plea. Bazzi, 60, pleaded not guilty last year to three felony charges, including attempting to transact business with a licensed terrorist organization.
Bazzi’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Treasury Department placed Bazzi on its sanctions list in 2018 for his alleged ties to Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization.
Prosecutors said Bazzi covertly sold real estate he owned in Michigan and transferred the funds overseas, in violation of those sanctions.
Bazzi was extradited to the United States in April 2023 from Romania, where he had been arrested two months earlier.
Prosecutors and Bazzi’s attorneys jointly asked U.S. District Judge Dora Irizarry to schedule a hearing later this month for Bazzi to change his plea.