An excavator transporting waste at the Bourj Hammoud landfill, managed by the company of contractor Dany Khoury. Archive photo Nasser Traboulsi
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury removed Lebanese national Dany Khoury from its sanctions list on Friday, according to an announcement on the bureau’s website. The 59-year-old had been included on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list and thus subject to these sanctions since 2021.
He had been accused of "contributing to the deterioration of good governance and the rule of law in Lebanon." At the time, OFAC specified that Khoury’s ties to Gebran Bassil” — himself subject to U.S. sanctions since November 2020 — allowed him to secure large contracts that earned him millions of dollars, "without fulfilling the established tender requirements."
OFAC's statement specifically cited the management of the Bourj Hammoud landfill (Metn), accusing Khoury’s company of "releasing toxic waste into the Mediterranean, polluting fishing areas and the Lebanese beaches without resolving the waste crisis."
In October 2021, Khoury’s lawyers denied that his company had won contracts due to its ties to Bassil and claimed it had not released waste into the Mediterranean.
The statement also noted that Khoury’s company has specialized in public tenders for over thirty years, well before the creation of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), led by Bassil. Lastly, the lawyers affirmed that they had contacted OFAC to defend Khoury through all legal avenues available to them.
Washington regularly imposes sanctions on Hezbollah leaders and members, as well as on individuals deemed to be providing them financial and logistical support, and on officials accused of corruption.
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