Lebanese money changers in the spotlight

The Financial Times’s article entitled “Syrians smuggle cash to Lebanon to evade unstable economy” landed before Daniel Glaser, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary, arrives to Lebanon. Following the Lebanese-Canadian Bank troubles, the currency exchange sector is subjected to restrictions imposed by Lebanon’s Central Bank.

During the past few months, the banking sector received orders to refrain from transferring money into accounts of Syrians living in Lebanon or abroad. LBCI TV station reported that the Head of the Lebanese Banks Association Joseph Tarabay denied the existence of any money transfer operation from Syria to Lebanon.

“The Lebanese money changers work under strict restrictions”, Tarabay said.

The Head of the Lebanese Money Changers Syndicate Mahmoud Halawi told LBCI that he was surprised to hear about the flow of foreign currency into the Lebanese financial market, stressing that even if these rumors are true money changers have nothing to do with it.   

The Central Bank of Lebanon issued an order for all Lebanese money changers entitled “Know your Client” that forces the banks to investigate their clients’ funds, holding both the bank and the client responsible for the money’s source.