Banking secrecy no more? Lebanon bill takes aim at financial wrongdoing

Report by Lea Fayad, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

Whoever you are, you will no longer be able to hide behind banking secrecy in Lebanon to conceal information about your account if you are accused of corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, or similar crimes.

A draft law amending banking secrecy regulations has been referred by parliamentary committees to the General Assembly, which is scheduled to convene Tuesday and vote on whether to pass it into effect.

This new version of the law includes changes to the 2022 banking secrecy amendment based on recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which had previously deemed the earlier version insufficient.

So, what are the main changes?

1. A 10-year retroactive effect from the date the law is enacted

This means the law will apply to all bank accounts dating back to 2015.

Why 2015? According to government sources, that’s when early signs of the financial crisis began to appear — most notably through financial engineering policies.

Anyone who benefited from financial engineering schemes, anyone who transferred money abroad while banks were refusing to give citizens access to their dollars during the 2019 crisis, or those who profited from the subsidy program — all could be investigated under the law.

2. Expanding the list of authorities allowed to request the lifting of banking secrecy on suspicious accounts

Under the 2022 law, this power was granted to the judiciary, the Special Investigation Commission, the tax administration, and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

The amended law also includes the Central Bank, the Banking Control Commission, and the National Deposit Guarantee Institution — which previously only had access to accounts for the purpose of bank restructuring.

3. Access to accounts by name, not just by account number

Unlike the 2022 version, authorities will now be able to access suspicious accounts using individuals’ names, not just numbers.

Most importantly, this law is expected to promote transparency and accountability, facilitate the restructuring of banks, and help return deposits. 

In short, it is a step toward restoring confidence in Lebanon’s banking sector — and without that confidence, few will feel safe putting their money in a bank.