Anti-Iran Group Pushes U.S. to Designate Lebanese Financial System as Money-Laundering Concern
New York-based United Against Nuclear Iran, or UANI, is pushing for the U.S. Treasury Department to designate Lebanon's financial system as a "money-laundering concern" under a statute of the Patriot Act, the Wall Street Journal reported.
But the Journal said that while the Treasury is focused on weakening the finances of Hizbullah and its main backers Iran and Syria, there is also a concern that Washington's allies in Lebanon could be harmed if Beirut's financial position deteriorates.
Last week, the Treasury set sanctions on two Lebanese-born men, Abbas Hussein Harb and Ibrahim Chibli, for helping Hizbullah-linked Lebanese drug lord Ayman Joumaa launder what it said were millions of dollars of narcotics-related proceeds.
Harb led a network based in Colombia and Venezuela that moved the money through Lebanese banks; Chibli helped in his position as a branch manager of Lebanon's Finicia Bank to help the operation, the Treasury said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, UANI is pressuring Major Wall Street and European financial firms to dump their holdings in Lebanese debt and securities over charges that Hizbullah is using Beirut's banking system to launder money and helping Syria and Iran evade international sanctions.
UANI is a group of former U.S. diplomats, security officials, academics and others aimed at raising pressure on Tehran.
Mark Wallace, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is the group's president.
UANI has sent letters to private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP, mutual-fund firm Fidelity Investments, international bank HSBC Holdings PLC, and Germany's DekaBank Group in recent months to lobby them to unload their Lebanese holdings, the Journal reported.
Three financial firms, Ameriprise Financial Inc., Finland's Aktia Bank, and Vienna-based Erste-Sparinvest KAG, have already confirmed that they divested themselves of their holdings in Lebanese securities in recent months, though they didn't cite the amounts of their investments, it said.
HSBC and DekaBank both contacted UANI and said they also were investigating the charges raised against Lebanon. Fidelity said it would comply with all U.S. regulations concerning investments in Lebanon. Blackstone said it is reviewing the matter and will respond later, it added.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/45293 |