James Shasha – a distinguished philanthrope or a terrorist financier?

James Shasha – a distinguished philanthrope or a terrorist financier?

James Shasha, an Iraqi immigrant Jew from Argentina, is the owner of various companies and businesses, including hotels and casinos (partly owned by his daughter Leslie Joy Shasha). One company registered in Argentina and owned and managed by Shasha, HCI SA, owns and operates several hotels and casinos. Two of those, Iguazu Grand Hotel Resort & Spa and Panoramic Grand Hotel, are located in the tri-border (Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil) area town of Puerto Iguazo.

According to information received from local law enforcement officers, who were involved in an investigation on a widespread terror-financing and money laundering network related to Hizballah. Since 2015, Shasha’s casinos in the tri-border area played a pivotal part in this network.

The main suspects of this investigation were two Hizballah operatives in Latin America, Hassan Ali Barakat and his brother, Hussein Ali Barakat. The brothers, part of the Al-Barakat clan were both arrested for smuggling cash from Shasha’s casinos across the border to Paraguay. For two years, the al-Barakat brothers have made over 600 border crossings smuggling cash using Shasha’s casinos in order to achieve their task to supply money for Hizballah.

What is particularly troubling and puzzling is the fact that even though Shasha’s casinos were part of a terror-financing money laundering scam meant to fund Hizballah, Shasha himself was not investigated. In fact, not only was he not questioned, he continues to act in his capacity as a major donor to various cultural institutes in Israel, as well as serve as a board member in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the National Museum of Israel.

In a related matter, based on information received from local officials involved in the investigation and preferred to remain anonymous, investigation efforts were undermined by senior local officials, including politicians and prosecutors, who were bribed to halt the investigation into the involvement of various individuals as well as free others suspected as being involved. This may explain why, so far, the involvement of both Shasha and his daughter was not investigated.

Used Sources:

[1]http://impactocna.com/allanaron-casinos-y-hoteles-en-la-triple-frontera-que-estarian-vinculados-a-la-organizacion-terrorista-hezbollah/
…They raided casinos and hotels in the Triple Border that would be linked to the terrorist organization Hezbollah
The suspicions of the investigators is that this Casino, belonging to the HCI S.A. society, had become a screen for various criminal businesses of Clan members who constantly entered Argentine territory to attend that place. Part of those maneuvers had already been revealed by Infobae.
When the corporate history of HCI was analyzed, a data emerged that caught the attention of the researchers. His discharge before the then DGI (today AFIP) was in December 1993, a few months before the AMIA attack in 1994, which according to the allegations of the Argentine Justice was perpetrated by Hezbollah.
The HCI group has other gambling “ventures”, such as Casino Café Central, Iguazú Grand Resort Spa and Casino, Casino Wanda, Cataratas Poker Tour and Grand Casino, all in the same area. It also has registered companies dedicated to hospitality – another item that is usually used to launder money – such as the Panoramic Grand Hotel.
Visible members of the entrepreneurial holding company include James Shasha – chief director – and his daughter, Leslie Joy Shasha, as alternate director…

[2]https://www.clarin.com/politica/investigacion-hezbollah-serpiente_0_BJM8pKwmQ.html
…There is some kind of maneuver to finance Hezbolah. To cite a single example and as verified in a UIF investigation, whose owner is Mariano Federici; only one of the clan members, Ali Hassan Barakat, registered 620 migratory crossings to Argentina between
The casino is a few meters from the exit of the bridge that connects Puerto Iguazú with Foz do Iguazú. From Foz a route leads to Ciudad del Este. At Foz Customs the controls are usually arbitrary. A highly porous border.
According to sources from the same gaming house, the Iguazú Casino belongs to the company HCI SA. The visible face of society on paper would be James Shasha, an American living in Buenos Aires. Shasha would also manage the Panoramic Casino, the Casino Central Cafe, in Puerto Iguazú; and the Wanda Casino, about 50 kilometers from the Falls. Shasha has been weighted in Misiones as a relevant investor…

[3]https://www.radiocataratas.com/noticia_34167.htm
…Puerto Iguazú – Radiocataratas.com.- The Barakat Clan is on the ropes. With this pugilistic phrase, the investigators describe the advances that have occurred in the last hours with several procedures simultaneously in the case that investigates a criminal organization that is suspected of various crimes on the Triple Frontier, all related to the financing of international terrorism in Hezbollah.
The suspicions of the investigators is that this Casino, belonging to the company HCI S.A., had become a screen for various criminal businesses of members of the Clan who constantly entered Argentine territory to attend that place. Part of those maneuvers had already been revealed by Infobae.
The HCI group has other gambling “ventures”, such as Casino Café Central, Iguazú Grand Resort Spa and Casino, Casino Wanda, Cataratas Poker Tour and Grand Casino, all in the same area.
Visible members of the entrepreneurial “holding” include James Shasha – chief director – and his daughter, Leslie Joy Shasha, as alternate director.
James Shasha is a businessman who was born in Iraq, has American nationality and is currently believed to live in Argentina with part of his family. His last name appears related to other companies in the textile business with businesses inside and outside the country…

[4]https://foroazulyblanco.blogspot.com/2018/07/investigacion-sobre-hezbollah.html
…An investigation by the Ministry of Security of Patricia Bullrich and Gerardo Milman, detected the repeated passage of 14 people from Ciudad del Este to the city of Puerto Iguazú where they would have taken 10 million dollars “in prizes” by chance. The money was not declared, but was detected by the FIU.
The Casino belongs to the company HCI SA – James Shasha, an American living in Buenos Aires…

[5]http://elshowdelosimpactos.com/index.php?noticia=33516
…Hezbollah Research: The snake is here among us.Tracks. The Triple Frontier was once again at the center of suspicions about the funds that the Barakat Clan managed. They are linked to terrorist groups.
The casino is a few meters from the exit of the bridge that connects Puerto Iguazú with Foz do Iguazú. From Foz a route leads to Ciudad del Este. At Foz Customs the controls are usually arbitrary. A highly porous border.
According to sources from the same gaming house, the Iguazú Casino belongs to the company HCI SA. The visible face of society on paper would be James Shasha, an American living in Buenos Aires. Shasha would also manage the Panoramic Casino, the Casino Central Cafe, in Puerto Iguazú; and the Wanda Casino, about 50 kilometers from the Falls. Shasha has been weighted in Misiones as a relevant investor.
The same group, HCI SA, also owns the Iguazú Grand and Panoramic Grand hotels in Puerto Iguazú; and The Grand Hotel among other tourist ventures in Buenos Aires and Punta del Este as well…

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