But what is it? Al-Qard Al-Hassan Foundation?
According to a report published by Reuters, the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Foundation Association was founded in 1983, and describes itself as a charitable association that provides loans to people in accordance with Islamic principles that prohibit usury.
It has more than 30 branches, most of which are located in Shiite-majority areas Beirut And south Lebanon And the Bekaa Valley.
It operates under a license granted by the Lebanese government.
Many members of the Shiite sect borrow from the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, and obtain loans in hard currency that can be repaid over several years on flexible terms.
Loans are granted against collateral, such as jewelry.
The association’s role expanded after Lebanon slid into a deep financial crisis that began in 2019 and led to the freezing of the savings of the Lebanese public.
The Hezbollah group encouraged Lebanese from all sects and political factions to deal with the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Foundation.
The US Treasury Department, which imposed sanctions on the Qard Al Hassan Foundation in 2007, said that the Hezbollah group was using the organization as a cover to manage “financial activities and contact with the international financial system.”
“While the Qard Al Hassan Foundation claims to serve the Lebanese people, in practice it illicitly moves funds through fake accounts and intermediaries, exposing Lebanese financial institutions to potential sanctions,” it said in a subsequent statement in which it imposed sanctions on individuals linked to it in 2021.
Hassan Nasrallah, the late Secretary-General of Hezbollah, spoke about the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Foundation several times.
In 2020, after the association was subjected to an electronic hacking operation and the names of its clients were published, Nasrallah said that the goal was to intimidate its clients in an attempt to push the association to collapse.
Nasrallah urged Hezbollah supporters to respond by depositing any money they have in their homes with the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Foundation, describing it as an association supported and protected by Hezbollah.
Two sources in the financial sector in the region said that the number of clients of the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Foundation is estimated at hundreds of thousands.
