On Thursday, May 2, 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Mazen Hassan el-Zein, as well as four other individuals involved in financing Hezbollah.

But who is Mazen el-Zein, and what relationship does he have with the pro-Iranian group?

Known as the CEO and founder of Crystal Group, a hospitality company based in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he is portrayed as a successful businessman in the hospitality and nightlife industry: bars, clubs, beach clubs, and restaurants.

He entered the business world with the Crystal Club, founded in Beirut in 2003. The expansion of his business led him to Dubai, UAE, in 2005, as well as London, and from 2007 to 2010, to Saint-Tropez, where he founded the Beach Club.

Born in Beirut on June 21, 1974, Mazen el-Zein also holds British nationality and owns two apartments in Dubai as well as two residences in France.

However, beneath his facade as a renowned businessman, Mazen el-Zein is one of the main indirect financiers of Hezbollah. He serves as a business consultant to Hassan Moukalled, a stockbroker and financial expert of Hezbollah, owner of the CTEX Exchange, which has been under US sanctions since January 2023.

Since mid-2023, Mazen el-Zein has been a business partner of Hassan Moukalled and his associate Adnan Youssef, an employee of CTEX Exchange, in various projects in the UAE. He also “had a management role in a parent company that would administer a number of businesses the three men planned to establish in the UAE on Moukalled’s behalf following Moukalled’s designation,” according to the OFAC’s statement.

Subsequently, Moukalled “appointed Mazen el-Zein as his representative to coordinate with Moukalled’s associates on his behalf, particularly on business deals with potential investors to secure millions of dollars’ worth of funds.”

As a result, the American sanctions have targeted Mazen el-Zein and his company, Crystal Group.

It is noteworthy that this company, registered in the UK in May 2013, was dissolved in October 2014, according to an online directory of British companies. The site mentions another director associated with Mazen el-Zein, Samir Kerchiched, of French nationality.