A Northern Virginia man was charged yesterday with operating an unlicensed business that sent more than $23 million abroad, much of it to Syria, in what federal officials called one of the biggest local cases in a four-year crackdown on underground money-transmitters.
Officials said the case was of particular concern because the U.S. government considers Syria a sponsor of terrorism. However, there was no allegation of terrorism financing, and it was not clear who ultimately received the cash, officials said.
Louay Habbal, 45, was charged in federal court in Alexandria with running an unlicensed money-transmitting business, Mena Exchange, largely out of his home in Vienna. He was arrested Tuesday evening at Dulles International Airport as he arrived from Syria, according to a news release from Paul J. McNulty, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
"All these underground money-remitter-type systems are a vulnerability that any criminal or terrorist organization can exploit," said Allan J. Doody, head of the Washington field office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose agents made the arrest.
Habbal, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Syria, was released after his court appearance yesterday but is required to wear an electronic monitoring device. There was no answer at his business number, and no one returned a phone call to his home.
According to the indictment, Habbal received money from customers nationwide and deposited it into bank accounts in Virginia and elsewhere from 2001 to 2004. After deducting his fees, Habbal transferred more than $23 million of the funds abroad, the indictment says.
Habbal's arrest is part of a nationwide crackdown on underground money-transmitters that began after the USA Patriot Act took effect in October 2001, requiring such businesses to register with the Treasury Department and get state licenses. Immigrants often use small money-transmitters to send funds to relatives back home.
Mena Exchange's Web site includes a notice stating that the company "operates strict anti-money-laundering controls" and would report any suspicious transactions. The site listed the business's address as 344 Maple Ave. West in Vienna.
A Treasury Department spokeswoman, Molly Millerwise, said there was no restriction on U.S. financial institutions wiring money to Syria. However, the United States considers Syria a sponsor of terrorism because it supports groups such as the militant group Hezbollah and has provided refuge for extremists.
Federal agents seized more than $100,000 from Mena's bank accounts, the news release said.
