US Immigration and Customs officials arrested a Virginia man on March 15, 2005 at Dulles Airport, Va and charged him with illegally operating a money transmission business. Louay Habbal was arrested as he was returning from Syria and was charged pursuant to the US Patriot Act that requires money transmitters to obtain the required state license and register with FinCEN, an agency of the US Treasury, before engaging in the money transmission business. Habbal was allegedly wiring millions of dollars to Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and other nations under the name Mena Express from his home in suburban Vienna, VA according to an indictment in the U.S. district court in Alexandria, Va. Authorities said no terror charges have been brought against Habbal, but the investigation is continuing. Habbal is a naturalized US citizen.
Between November 2001 and July 2004, officials of the HIDTA Money Laundering Initiative said, Habbal deposited funds from worldwide customers in a Virginia bank account. After taking out his fee, Habbal transferred the funds to individuals designated by his customers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators seized more than $100,000 from the Mena Exchange bank account.
Habbal was released after court appearance on condition of wearing an electronic monitoring device.