Berri Expresses Relief over Association of Banks’ Announcement

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed relief on Friday over the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon through the Higher Relief Council.

“I have already said that the payment will not be from the state’s budget and this is what happened… there might be other hidden issues related (to the funding) that will be unveiled soon,” Berri told An Nahar.

He noted that the Association of Banks had exposed the “first thread” in the case.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced on Thursday that it has granted the HRC $32 million to fund the tribunal probing the murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, after media reports had said that the money came from the budget of the Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s office.

Sources told An Nahar that the step adopted by the banking sector indicates that the international community is keeping it under close supervision to prevent any money transfers to Syria and money laundering.

They added that banks are keen to maintain their commitment to the international community in order to preserve its stability which technically means they should support the tribunal.

Miqati announced on November 30 that he had transferred Lebanon’s share of the tribunal funding but he did not elaborate on the mechanism he employed.