US Treasury eyes sanction enforcement

Calls for shielding Lebanon against attempts to evade sanctions on Syria

US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen visited Lebanon on Tuesday (March 20). He met with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and with the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, as well as the board of the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL).

The US official highlighted the need for local authorities to “protect the country’s financial sector from potential attempts to evade US and international financial sanctions” on Syria and Iran. He reiterated his goverment’s view that it is important to ensure that the current instability in Syria does not undermine the Lebanese financial sector.

Cohen also discussed with the officials the steps Lebanon should take to ensure a transparent and well-regulated financial sector.

Media reports said that the local officials reassured the US envoy that Lebanese banks are keen to abide by the sanctions targeting its troubled neighbor.

The US conveyed a similar message last November through its Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, Daniel Glaser. During a visit to Beirut on November 10, Glaser highlighted the need for the Lebanese authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure a transparent and well-regulated financial sector.

Local banks have taken a series of precautionary measures in the wake of the financial sanctions imposed by the US and the EU on Syria. The ABL issued a set of recommendations for banks on how to deal with the sanctions. The governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, had earlier declared that Lebanese banks “will not take any action that could expose any of our correspondent banks or put them in a position whereby they have breached regulations in their countries.”


by Hanadi Chami