U.S. imposes sanctions on Paraguayan corruption network

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Three individuals linked to corruption networks in Paraguay and five companies associated with them were singled out Tuesday by the U.S. Treasury Department for financial sanctions under the Magnitsky Act.

Among the accused are “despachantes,” a kind of middleman between influence networks and the Paraguayan bureaucratic apparatus to expedite illegal deals, according to the US Treasury Department.

The sanctioned individuals are Kassem Mohamad Hijazi, Khalil Ahmad Hijazi, and Liz Paola Doldan Gonzalez, who were implicated in “corruption in Paraguay,” the Treasury Department said in a press release.

“These designations under the Global Magnitsky Act sanctions program demonstrates our commitment to fighting corruption and promoting accountability of officials who undermine government institutions,” said Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Kassem Hijazi was identified as a “despachante,” a middleman between members of smuggling networks and the country’s bureaucratic apparatus, while “running and controlling a money-laundering organization based in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, that operates worldwide and can launder hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Khalil Ahmad Hijazi is the owner of España Informatica SA, a company that deals with the transportation of goods in countries such as the United States, Uruguay, and China.

Paola Doldan was identified as a “middleman for shipments from the United States.”

Doldan used her company, Mobile Zone International Import-Export S.R.L., to bring goods from Miami, Florida, to Paraguay and make them appear cheaper so she would pay less tax.

The aforementioned sanctions mean that the Treasury Department is freezing all the individuals’ assets and prohibiting all US citizens from trading with these individuals and entities.

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