The al-Fadel company for financial remittances has closed one of its main branches in Damascus, three weeks after receiving Israeli threats accusing it of dealings with the Lebanese Hezbollah.

The local Sawt al-Asima (Damascus Voice) website reported today, Wednesday, November 13, that the al-Fadel company for financial remittances closed its office in the Mezzeh area, which is considered the main branch for it in Syria.

The website added that it had monitored through its private sources in Damascus the closure of the Mezzeh branch and the permanent removal of al-Fadel company signs, transferring all customers to the Muhafazah branch.

Enab Baladi contacted the al-Fadel company office on al-Firdous Street next to the Muhafazah square in downtown Damascus, where the office confirmed that the Mezzeh branch is indeed closed and that customers can make financial transfers through the three other branches in Damascus and its countryside, which are the Muhafazah square branch, the Jaramana branch, and the Sayyida Zainab branch.

Israeli threats

The Sawt al-Asima website stated on Tuesday, October 22, that the administration of the al-Fadel company for financial remittances received threats through calls from unknown numbers by foreigners speaking “poor” Arabic.

The website mentioned that the callers held the company’s administration responsible for contributing to the funding of Hezbollah and accused it of being one of the economic arms of the party.

The website quoted a source from within the company stating that vehicles belonging to Hezbollah transported large amounts of money from the company’s branch in the Mezzeh neighborhood to an unknown location, amid strict security measures.

Hours after circulating this news, the al-Fadel company denied receiving Israeli threats accusing it of funding Hezbollah.

The company stated in a statement via its Facebook page that all news circulated on social media platforms and websites is “false and baseless.”

The statement clarified that al-Fadel money exchange is a private joint stock company that does not belong to any entity or organization, noting that it is “a licensed company working according to the regulations and laws in Syria under the supervision of the Central Bank of Syria.”

US sanctions

The al-Fadel company is one of the largest remittance companies in Syria and is characterized by violating laws that criminalize dealing in foreign currency, as it openly delivers financial amounts in foreign currencies at its branches, after having been transferred by parties from outside Syria.

The US Treasury Department designated three brothers owning the al-Fadel remittances company on May 30, 2023, on the US sanctions list for providing financial assistance to the Syrian regime, Hezbollah, and the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

According to the Treasury statement at the time, the al-Fadel company is owned by three brothers from the Balwi family, originating from the town of Nubbul in rural Aleppo: Fadel, Mut’i, and Muhammad Balwi.

They are the only ones authorized to work on behalf of Hezbollah by the Central Bank of Syria, according to the US Treasury.

The ministry mentioned that the al-Fadel company facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars since 2021, to accounts in the Central Bank of Syria, which is on the US sanctions list, and these transfers were for the benefit of the Syrian regime.

Moreover, Hezbollah, which is also on the US sanctions list, has used the al-Fadel company to transfer funds from other countries in the region to Syria.

The al-Fadel company also facilitated, until mid-2021, payments from the Syrian regime to Muhammad Qassem al-Bazzal, who is the financial officer in Hezbollah and is also on the US sanctions list, in exchange for shipments of Iranian oil.

Israel bombs the owner of the company’s house

In February 2023, Israel targeted a building in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood of Damascus, and Sawt al-Asima sources indicated at that time that the targeted building belonged to Fadel Balwi, one of the owners of the al-Fadel remittances company.

Sawt al-Asima learned from its sources then that the targeted building was used as a logistics support center and a meeting place for members of the financing and money transfer unit in Hezbollah.

According to the information published on its website, the al-Fadel company was established in 2010 and turned in 2015 into a licensed private joint stock company by the Central Bank of Syria.

The company’s headquarters is located in Damascus, and by 2018, it had launched new branches in Aleppo, Latakia, and Hama.

It also opened a branch in the Sayyida Zainab area in the countryside of Damascus, where Iranian leaders and advisors and members of Hezbollah are concentrated.