Sanctioned charities linked to Hezbollah are increasingly using digital payment platforms to solicit donations, raising questions about the ability of financial services to prevent money from reaching organizations under U.S. sanctions, the Financial Times reported.

Investigations show that several Hezbollah-affiliated charities, including the Lebanese branch of the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (Emdad Association), the Martyr Foundation, and the Wounded Foundation, have routinely instructed donors to use digital wallets held by private individuals via Beirut-based Whish Money, or its competitor OMT. Interviews, transaction records, WhatsApp chats, and receipts obtained by the Financial Times indicate that the same individuals have been used for both local and international fundraising.

In one instance earlier this year, an individual representing Emdad told a donor to send funds through Whish using his personal name and phone number. A dollar-denominated transfer was subsequently sent from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which hosts a sizable Lebanese diaspora, through Whish’s international partner RIA. The donor later received a receipt from Emdad confirming the transaction.

In another case, a donor seeking to contribute more than $10,000 to Emdad was instructed to split the donation into smaller installments, with the funds routed through multiple intermediaries named on the charity’s WhatsApp account.

Routing funds through individuals rather than official charity accounts increases the risk that sanctions-screening and know-your-customer procedures may fail to detect links between the recipient and the sanctioned organization, the report noted. 

Lebanon’s digital payments industry has expanded rapidly since the country’s 2019 economic and banking crises. Millions of Lebanese overseas sent nearly $6 billion in remittances in 2024, according to the World Bank. To facilitate international transfers, Whish has partnered with U.S.-based Visa and Mastercard, allowing users to fund their wallets with payment cards. The company, which serves over two million customers in more than 110 countries, also recently obtained a financial services license in Canada. OMT acts as Western Union’s agent in Lebanon and is similarly partnered with Visa.

While digital payments are generally seen as more traceable than cash, the Financial Times report highlights the difficulty in preventing funds from reaching sanctioned charities. Tellers at three Whish branches confirmed that the wallets linked to private individuals were active, and one phone number corresponded to a listing on the Martyr Foundation website, raising questions about Whish’s due diligence. For OMT, tellers said individuals did not have digital wallets, but could collect cash sent using the recipient’s name and phone number.

The charities themselves defended their fundraising methods. The Martyr Foundation stated it did not maintain “authorized” accounts on either platform, while the Wounded Foundation said it relied on support from a “broad community of supporters, both inside Lebanon and abroad” to assist the wounded and people with disabilities. Emdad did not respond to requests for comment.

Whish rejected any wrongdoing, saying it was the target of a “smear campaign orchestrated by a group of corrupt politicians and bankers” and that every user is “rigorously and continuously screened” against sanctions and central bank watch lists. The company said all transactions are monitored to prevent money laundering or terrorism financing, and that it reports to Lebanon’s central bank and national security forces as required. OMT similarly said it complies with U.S. and international regulations, screens customers, and monitors transactions. Visa confirmed it requires partners to comply with all regulations, including sanctions, while Mastercard said it employs the latest technologies and best practices to monitor its network. RIA said it maintains strong controls and undertakes “reasonable efforts” to detect and report suspicious activity.