Alleged Hezbollah financier pleads guilty to conspiracy charge

NEW YORK (AP) — A Lebanese and Belgian citizen labeled a “global terrorist” by the United States in 2018 has pleaded guilty to conspiring to cause a U.S. individual to unlawfully transact with him. Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi entered the plea Friday in Brooklyn federal court. Federal authorities had described him as a key Hezbollah financier when he was extradited to the United States. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace has said Bazzi wrongly thought he could illegally move hundreds of thousands of dollars from the United States to Lebanon without being noticed. As part of the plea, he agreed to forfeit nearly $830,000 involved in the illegal transaction.