For years, the Special Investigation Commission of Banque du Liban (BDL) acted as if it only existed when matters reached the American sphere. This commission was established to investigate operations suspected of being money laundering crimes.
This article was originally published in, translated from the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar.
Prior to placing the former governor of the central bank, Riad Salameh, and his associates on the US sanctions list, the commission and any member of the Central Council hesitated to request freezing the governor's accounts.
The commission members often used the excuse that their voices were "absent," as the head of the commission was also BDL's governor. However, the equation quickly changed with the issuance of the US decision to sanction Salameh and his aides.
First Deputy Governor Wassim Mansouri, as head of the Special Investigation Commission after assuming temporary leadership of the central bank, requested the freezing of the accounts belonging directly or indirectly, individually or jointly, to Riad Salameh, Raja Salameh, Nady Salameh, Marianne Hoayek, and Anna Kosakova in all banks and financial institutions operating in Lebanon.
The banking secrecy regarding these accounts was lifted towards the competent judicial authorities, except for salary domiciliation accounts.
The commission members made the decision unanimously and communicated to the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, the Higher Banking Commission through its president, and the banks and financial institutions operating in Lebanon.
Following the decision's issuance, banks are expected to lift banking secrecy on all accounts they hold and provide Banque du Liban with statements about these accounts, including closed ones.
This will reveal the truth about the accounts of Marianne Hoayek and Raja Salameh at Al-Mawarid Bank and the financial transactions in addition to the bank accounts of Raja and Marianne in other banks, as revealed by Swiss investigations.
It will also be determined whether Salameh's son, Nady, has opened accounts in Lebanon, similar to Kosakova.
The effect of revealing the accounts will last for at least ten years. Furthermore, the provisions of Law 44/2015 on combating money laundering will be applied, including the Special Investigation Commission preparing a report based on the information provided by banks to the Court of Cassation if suspicions arise about the nature of the operations.
The decision will then be in the hands of the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, whether it pertains to preserving records in money laundering cases and others, the funds are released, or issuing a final decision to prevent the trial of the investigating judge or the prosecution authority.
If a verdict or a decision is issued to annul the tracking or for acquittal of the owners of frozen accounts and prohibited funds, the accounts and funds become liberated.
Regarding residents outside Lebanon, like Nady Salameh, "the law applied to any crime is a special law," lawyer Karim Daher told al-Akhbar. It is assumed that Lebanon will contact the country where the suspect resides to inform them about the committed offenses.
If the suspect holds Lebanese citizenship, they will be held accountable in their country based on Lebanese investigation sovereignty. If tax evasion is involved, the provisions of Law 55/2016 on exchanging tax information will apply, obliging Lebanon to send data to the country where the evader resides.
Daher questioned why the Special Investigation Commission acted today, stating that there is a significant responsibility for those who covered up or contributed to hiding the crime's details, particularly commission members who were supposed to report the governor's offenses.
Especially regarding the conflicts of interest and taking refuge in Law 83, which protects whistleblowers of corruption before the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, about not disclosing their identities.
Silence about these crimes makes them accomplices or participants in the offense; thus, holding them accountable is necessary.
The same applies to chairpersons of the boards of directors of banks, financial institution directors, certified accountants, and notaries who are considered participants in the crime and will be penalized under Article 3 of Law 44 with imprisonment from three to seven years for facilitating, inciting, or participating in money laundering operations.
According to Article 4 of the same law, banks must apply due diligence procedures to customers, identify the owner of the economic right's identity, and take necessary steps to verify it based on reliable documents, information, or data.
They are also required to retain copies of documents related to all transactions and of information or data or images of documents related to the identity of clients for at least five years after completing the transactions or ending the business relationship.
Continuous monitoring and review of business relationships are necessary, and measures should be implemented if doubts arise about the accuracy of the disclosed information related to money laundering, necessitating reporting.
This places banks at risk of the penalties specified in Article 13, which can lead to imprisonment and fines. All of this is contingent upon the information banks will disclose to the investigation commission and the report that the commission will submit to the Public Prosecution of the Court of Cassation, who will then act to safeguard the public interest.