Lebanon's Central Bank to issue circular reinforcing anti-money laundering measures

The financial sector in Lebanon eagerly awaits an official circular expected to be issued by the Special Investigation Commission (SIC) of the Central Bank next week.

This circular will affirm the effectiveness of the adopted systems in combating money laundering and terrorist financing while accurately identifying the shortcomings identified by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) working group to prevent the country from slipping into the "grey list."

This article was originally published, translated from the Arab outlet of "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat."

According to information published by Al-Sharq Al-Awsat ahead of the general meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at the end of last month in Bahrain, Lebanon is required to address the emerging gaps, particularly concerning the expansion of the monetary economy.

It is necessary to take corrective measures to preserve the effectiveness of the country's legal and procedural system in preventing suspicious financial transactions. A new assessment of Lebanon's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system is scheduled for mid-next year to evaluate its regional and international methodological adherence as per the FATF standards for assessing all countries.

Indeed, the regional group concerned with monitoring financial crimes, according to Reuters, released a statement that did not include placing Lebanon on the grey list of countries subjected to particular scrutiny.

However, this came after the agency quoted sources in May suggesting that Lebanon was likely to be added to the FATF's list due to insufficient measures in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The statement also indicated that Lebanon is seeking to improve its situation.