Brazilian authorities confirmed Friday that they have arrested a man designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a high-ranking Hezbollah financier.
Assad Ahmad Barakat, 51, was arrested in Foz de Iguacu, a city in the border region between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, according to police.
Barakat has frequently faced accusations of illegal activity in the region, known as the Triple Frontier, which is also considered a haven for smuggling, trafficking and counterfeiting.
The Brazilian Federal Police said that the country's Supreme Court authorized Barakat's arrest after Paraguayan authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in August on suspicion of identity theft.
Police also said Argentine authorities accused him of laundering $10 million through a casino in the border city of Puerto Iguazu.
In 2004, the U.S. Treasury Department said Barakat was one of the most influential members of the Lebanon-based Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah, and accused him of using his businesses in the tri-border area as fronts for raising funds for the group, which is Iran's most powerful proxy in the Middle East.
Barakat was imprisoned in Paraguay from 2002 to 2008 on charges of tax evasion. After his release, he lived in Brazil and carried out business activities in Paraguay, Argentina and Chile.
