The UAE has added 21 individuals and entities linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah to its Local Terrorist List under Cabinet Resolution No. 63 of 2026. The designation includes 16 individuals and five Lebanon-based entities, with UAE regulatory authorities instructed to identify and freeze any related financial or commercial relationships within less than 24 hours where required.
For businesses, this is not only a banking matter.
It is a compliance, governance, procurement, onboarding, finance, and operational risk issue.
A listed person or entity may not appear directly as a customer. Exposure can sit quietly within a shareholder structure, beneficial ownership chain, supplier relationship, payment instruction, advisory engagement, agent arrangement, or related-party transaction.
That is why this update should be treated as an immediate screening and risk review exercise.
What happened?
The UAE Cabinet approved the inclusion of new names on the country’s Local Terrorist List, which is used to restrict individuals and organizations connected to terrorism, terrorist financing, or related support networks.
According to WAM, the designation forms part of the UAE’s wider efforts to disrupt and dismantle networks linked to direct or indirect terrorism financing.
The names include:
16 Lebanese nationals
- Ali Mohammed Karneeb
- Nasser Hassan Nasr
- Hassan Shehadeh Osman
- Samer Hassan Fawaz
- Ahmed Mohammed Yazbek
- Isa Hussein Qasir
- Ibrahim Ali Daher
- Abbas Hassan Ghareeb
- Emad Mohammed Bazzi
- Ezzat Yousef Akr
- Wahid Mahmud Sbeiti
- Mustafa Habib Harb
- Mohammed Suleiman Badir
- Adel Mohammad Mansour
- Ali Ahmed Krisht
- Nima Ahmad Jamil
Five Lebanon-based entities
- Bayt Al-Mal Al-Muslimeen
- Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association
- Al Tasheelat Company
- The Auditors for Accounting and Auditing
- Al-Khobara for Accounting, Auditing, and Studies
Why this matters for UAE businesses
Sanctions risk is rarely limited to one obvious name on a file.
It may arise through:
Clients and customers
Suppliers and contractors
Shareholders and UBOs
Directors and authorized signatories
Agents, brokers, and introducers
Payment beneficiaries
Professional service clients
Related companies or connected entities
For regulated entities, financial institutions, and DNFBPs, targeted financial sanctions screening is a core compliance obligation. The Central Bank of the UAE states that licensed financial institutions should have suitable risk management systems to identify whether a customer or beneficial owner has been added to the UAE Local Terrorist List or the UN Security Council Consolidated List, and that customer and transaction screening should be conducted both before onboarding and on an ongoing basis.
What businesses should do now
Businesses should take a structured and documented approach.
First, update internal sanctions screening systems and confirm that external screening vendors have reflected the latest UAE Local Terrorist List update.
Second, re-screen existing relationships, not only new customers. This should include clients, suppliers, UBOs, directors, signatories, introducers, agents, payment beneficiaries, and related parties.
Third, review live transactions. Pending payments, invoices, trade documents, receivables, payables, refunds, and Lebanon-linked arrangements should be checked carefully.
Fourth, consider name variations. Arabic names may appear in different English spellings, so screening should capture transliteration differences, partial matches, and close-name similarities.
Fifth, escalate possible matches internally. Any potential match should be reviewed by the compliance team or MLRO against identifiers such as nationality, date of birth, documents, ownership records, addresses, and transaction background.
Sixth, if a true match is confirmed, the business should stop dealing with the relevant funds, assets, or services and follow the required UAE reporting and freezing procedures. UAE authorities have directed regulatory bodies to identify and freeze relevant financial or commercial relationships within less than 24 hours where required.
Finally, keep evidence. Businesses should retain screening results, review notes, false-positive reasoning, escalation records, approvals, reports submitted, and the final decision trail.
If a name appears similar
Not every match is a true match.
In some cases, the issue may be a false positive, where a person or company has a similar name but is not the listed party. In that case, the business should collect supporting documents such as passport details, date of birth, address, trade license, ownership records, shareholder documents, and transaction history.
The decision to proceed should be recorded clearly.
Where the person or entity is actually listed, the matter should be handled through proper legal and regulatory channels. The party should not attempt to move funds, transfer assets, restructure ownership, or continue activity through another person or company.
Final takeaway
This update is a reminder that sanctions compliance is not a back-office formality.
One payment, one supplier, one shareholder, one beneficial owner, or one overlooked relationship can create serious regulatory, financial, and reputational exposure.
For UAE businesses, the prudent approach is clear:
Screen early.
Escalate quickly.
Freeze when legally required.
Report properly.
Document every decision.
In a regulatory environment where transparency and readiness matter, strong sanctions controls are not only a compliance requirement. They are part of responsible business governance.
Based on the content provided.