Lebanon is taking the necessary measures to abide by financial sanctions imposed by the US, Europe and some Arab governments against certain countries and entities, the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon (CBL) Riad Salamah said at a round table discussion in Beirut. Mr Salamah confirmed that Lebanon will amend existing anti-money laundering laws to combat terrorism funding more efficiently, and explained that “these amendments are designed to buttress the monitoring of terrorism funding in accordance with Lebanese laws and to regulate cross-border currency movements.”

The governor went on to state that Lebanon was today subjected to more auditing from the international community and most notably by the US and Europe. Earlier this month US Deputy Treasury Secretary Neil Wolin visited Beirut to press on the authorities “the need to prevent abuse of the Lebanese financial sector by illicit actors, and for Lebanese banks and regulatory authorities to remain vigilant against the evasion of sanctions by Syria and Iran” (MEES, 14 September). (CONTINUED - 328 WORDS)