The visit of Jesse Baker, (Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Asia and the Middle East in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes) to Lebanon on March 7th-8th, 2024, has raised speculations and inquiries concerning the message that he was delivering to the Lebanese state, BDL, and the commercial banks regarding money laundering and terrorism financing. The US Treasury’s top official is pinpointing to the possibility of terrorist financing. The US Treasury officials are concerned about the Lebanese large illicit financial services companies, along with a cash economy representing around 46% of Lebanon’s GDP, as per World Bank estimates, which will service the financing of Hamas and Hezbollah that are blacklisted and sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
For the full article, click on the link below: