ABL downplays ‘OFAC Enhancement List’

List of US sanctions did not include Lebanese banks: Association of Banks says

The Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) downplayed a report published by a global private data-provider in which it announced the enhancement of its list of US sanctions on Syria to include a number of Lebanese banks operating in the penalized state.

According to its statement, ‘Accuity Solutions’ has published its ‘OFAC Enhancement List’ within its cooperation with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury.

The ABL said that ‘Accuity’ is a “private organization which is not associated with, does not represent, or speak on behalf of, OFAC or the US Treasury.”

“As the Accuity statement acknowledges, there has been no change in the OFAC sanctions on Syria,” the ABL said. It said that “none of the Lebanese banks or the Syrian subsidiaries of Lebanese banks are included in the OFAC list.”

The ABL said that local banks and all their subsidiaries “apply high standards of corporate governance and compliance and abide by the sanctions applicable to them.” It also said that the banks listed in the Accuity statement will be taking the appropriate measures.

‘Accuity Solutions’ is a privately owned company that operates as a provider of data, software, and other services for global payment routing and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance.

The company said that it has based its ‘list’ on the Executive Order signed by the US President, Barack Obama, on August 17. The Order freezes all assets of the Syrian Government under US jurisdiction and prohibits US nationals and institutions from engaging in commercial or financial transactions with the designated entities.