Lebanon not targeted by sanctions

Central Bank does not hold Syrian state assets: Salameh

The Governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, reassured that the country’s financial system is not targeted by international and Arab sanctions on neighboring Syria.

Salameh said that the Central Bank does not hold any assets of the Syrian state. He also said that the country does not have to take action in light of the financial sanctions imposed on Syria by the Arab League.

“Our banks are dealing with this issue seriously, and they are being cautious about the names included in the sanctions’ lists,” he said. Salameh said that the local banks are dealing normally with the other Syrian clients who have not been included in the sanctions.

“(Local) banks are compelled to implement the resolutions of the Security Council, but the decisions (made by) countries are only valid within the countries that issue them,” he said.

The Arab League announced sanctions against Damascus on November 27. Lebanon voted against the sanctions.
The sanctions imposed a freeze on the assets of Syria’s central bank, as well as a halt to all dealings with the central bank and state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria. The sanctions had also called for a halt to financial dealings and trade agreements with Syria's government.

“My impression is we are not really going to be affected because we don't have a substantial business as bankers with Syria," Makram Sader, Secretary-General of the Association of Banks in Lebanon had earlier said.
Sader said that banks had not yet received instructions related to the sanctions.