Central Bank governor says blacklisting of bank by U.S. not a sign of wider campaign

Saturday, February 26, 2011

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=3&article_id=125332#axzz1F6tPezSi

BEIRUT: Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh said Friday he received assurances from the U.S. Treasury Department that recent charges of possible money laundering against the Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) were not part of a larger campaign by the U.S. to blacklist Lebanese banks.

Salameh’s remarks, which were published in a statement issued by the Central Bank, follow an interview with broadcaster LBC Thursday evening in which the governor expressed confidence that LCB may be absolved of the allegations following a review of the bank’s accounts with American officials next week.

After arriving in Washington Thursday, Salameh met with a number of high-ranking officials at the U.S. Treasury Department, including the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Stuart Levey.

The U.S. Treasury listed the LCB as being of “primary money laundering concern” on Feb. 10 because of alleged ties to illicit drug trafficking networks and to Hezbollah, which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

The Treasury’s classification allows the U.S. government to require U.S. financial institutions and agencies to take “special measures” against the LCB, a statement from the  U.S. Treasury said.

Salameh’s Washington trip follows concern from Lebanese officials that LCB allegations represented a political message of disapproval of the current formation of the Lebanese government, and would signal that the U.S. intends to discredit other Lebanese banks.

However, in an interview with the LBC, Salameh tried to ease those fears. He said that meetings with officials had assured him that the U.S.’s dealings with the LCB “did not at all reflect moves by the U.S. to target the Lebanese banking sector.”

The LCB is one of Lebanon’s largest banks, with $5 billion of assets as of 2009. It maintains 35 branches in Lebanon and a representative office in Montreal, Canada. – The Daily Star