BDL acting governor Wassim Mansouri, during a press conference on August 25, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today/Archives)
The acting governor of the Central Bank, Wassim Manssouri, assured the US Treasury's Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Middle East in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, Jesse Baker, that Hamas had "no possibility of making bank transfers from Lebanon either through banks or financial companies," according to information relayed in the local press and confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour by two sources at the Central Bank.
According to the daily an-Nahar, the head of BDL also said that the institution was "doing its part to regulate licensed financial services companies," stressing however that he could not intervene in "those operating without a license," citing a prerogative falling to the competent authorities to enforce the law.
The American official had visited Lebanon last week. According to a US Treasury official speaking on condition of anonymity, he told the authorities of "specific concerns" regarding "the movement of Hamas funds via Lebanon, as well as Hezbollah funds originating in Iran and arriving in Lebanon from where they are redirected to the region." He also called for "proactive measures" to be taken to combat these types of transfers.
Baker’s visit to Lebanon was part of a broader visit to the region as part of regular US engagements with partner countries working to combat illegal money transfers, terrorist financing and money laundering, a US Embassy spokesperson told OLJ.
Tying up loose ends
According to sources quoted by an-Nahar, Baker "didn't dwell much on Hezbollah's financing, as he knows very well that this financing is also based on cash and does not go through the banking system or approved financial companies." A senior banking source, when contacted, said that the significance of Baker's visit had been "blown out of proportion in the media," adding that it was a "routine visit." He added that the meeting with members of the Banking Association on Friday had been brief and unsurprising. "There were no warnings or threats, just normal discussions raising the US Treasury's main concerns about Lebanon.
For one of the BDL sources, Baker's visit was intended to convey the US administration's concerns about the means used by Hamas to finance its actions, but also a demonstration of its "confidence" in the country's monetary and banking authorities.
The United States regularly sanctions networks linked to Hezbollah and Hamas, in Lebanon and elsewhere, accused of "financing terrorism." In January 2023, Washington blacklisted CTEX, a company founded in 2021 by Hassan Moukalled, which, according to the Treasury, was one of the key elements enabling the party to circumvent US sanctions by keeping a foot in the traditional financial system. At the time, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) pointed the finger at BDL, which had granted a license to CTEX.
Last December, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF, the international body that monitors financial crime), judged that the measures taken by Lebanon against money laundering and the financing of terrorism were mostly acceptable.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.