Kenan: Completion of Amendments to Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Law in Finance Committee

The Finance and Budget Committee held a session chaired by MP Ibrahim Kenan, attended by Bank of Lebanon Governor Karim Saeed and MPs Ali Fayyad, Alain Aoun, Ali Hassan Khalil, Jean Talouzian, Selim Aoun, Ghassan Hasbani, Ghazi Zaiter, Jihad Al-Samad, Michel Moawad, Ghada Ayoub, Razi Al-Hajj, Adnan Traboulsi, Firas Hamdan, Nasser Jabr, Amin Charie, Fouad Makhzoumi, Yassine Yassine, and Melhem Khalaf.
Also present was the Secretary General of the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), Engineer Ghassan Khairallah.

After the session, Kenan said, "The first important issue is the amendment of Law 44 concerning the fight against terrorism and money laundering. Everyone knows that Lebanon is on the grey list, and an assessment has recently been conducted to review its status, whether it will be placed on the black list or removed from the grey list which affects us. We have conducted a preliminary reading of all the amendments required by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). There is agreement on all the requested clauses, but there remains a memo that the Minister of Justice asked to attach to our report. We have requested him to send it since he did not attend today."

He added, "Consequently, the articles were discussed, and the concepts regarding crimes and penalties, as well as many matters that were not covered in the law, are now included. There is significant tightening regarding illicit funds derived from crimes, with additions including direct and indirect beneficiaries of money laundering through the purchase of real estate, shares, and participation in commercial activities. Thus, all concepts and criteria have been clarified, and we are awaiting the Minister of Justice's memo to submit our report to the plenary session."

Kenan indicated that "the second item concerns increasing Lebanon's share in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Its importance lies in increasing the projects funded by the European Union in Lebanon across all fields."

Kenan continued, "We also approved the Barqasha - Bsharri road project. The CDR had previously implemented several similar projects in the North, such as Hadath El Jebbeh, Zgharta-Ehden, and Koura, and the Barqasha project completes this plan. Discussion took place regarding the loan valued at $13.5 million, which was approved. We requested a financial summary of the project from the CDR.

He added, "We requested from the CDR a comprehensive vision for all Lebanese regions, and we will hold a dedicated session for this purpose to discuss the plan according to priorities and a clear schedule for each region. We await the readiness of the CDR for the session to determine its date."

In response to a question about the financial stability law, Kenan said, "The draft was referred last February, but hours after its referral, talk began about reconsidering it in light of observations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bank of Lebanon, and free profession syndicates. A type of governmental committee or body was formed for this purpose. We are waiting for all amendments, and the matter rests with the government, Bank of Lebanon, and the IMF to conclude the ongoing negotiations between them so that laws are not sent to Parliament only to be followed up with additions and changes. This issue was raised by MPs during today's session."

He continued, "The agreement between Bank of Lebanon, the IMF, and the government gives us the figures that are not before us today, regarding deposits over $100,000, illicit funds and whether they have been audited or not, the state's contribution ratio, and how financing will occur, because the last thing we want is to send laws to Parliament only to have them amended later."