Lebanon's anti-money laundering system: Acting BDL Governor reveals 'acceptable' results

The acting Banque du Liban (BDL) Governor, Wassim Mansouri, announced in a statement that the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) published the Mutual Evaluation Report on the Republic of Lebanon regarding anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) measures.

The report concerning the FATF 40 Recommendations indicates that Lebanon achieved acceptable results in technical compliance, receiving a rating of "compliant" or " largely compliant" in 34 recommendations. 

However, the report highlights the necessity of improvements in the remaining six recommendations, where Lebanon received a rating of "partially compliant," requiring some amendments to laws and regulations.

Regarding the direct results of the eleven Immediate Outcome measurements, Lebanon achieved an "average" level of effectiveness in nine direct outcomes, said the statement.

While the Lebanese anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system showed some positive results, it requires further enhancement in areas such as risk assessment, international cooperation, supervision, especially in the non-financial sector, and its procedures, legal persons, and arrangements, parallel financial investigations, and relevant targeted financial sanctions related to United Nations Security Council resolutions. 

Lebanon obtained a low level of effectiveness in two direct outcomes, primarily related to the inadequacy of confiscation of criminal proceeds and related assets and the adequacy of prosecution and judicial decisions in money laundering crimes that need to be more consistent with the risks, requiring proportional and deterrent penalties, as stated in the report.

The assessment Lebanon underwent, based on the methodology adopted by the FATF for evaluating all countries, took place under the known exceptional circumstances that are still prevailing, added the statement.

In any case, as in all countries, there is a need for a comprehensive governmental approach to implement the corrective actions required by the relevant internal authorities. 

Therefore, the Special Investigation Commission, as the national coordinator for the assessment process, will inform the offices of the Speaker of the Parliament and the Prime Minister of all the results of the report to communicate with the relevant internal authorities regarding the corrective actions needed to enhance the effectiveness of the Lebanese anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system. 

Lebanon is required to submit follow-up reports on the progress made in their implementation throughout 2024 to MENAFATF for discussion and appropriate decision-making.