US Sanctions and Suspicious Transfer Files: What Does the 'Iran Exports Bank' File Hide in Lebanon?

A government source told "Al Jumhuriya" that "the decision by Banque du Liban to cancel the license granted to 'Bank Saderat Iran' constitutes a fundamental step in addressing risks threatening the Lebanese financial sector, particularly those linked to Iranian financing networks and Hezbollah," confirming that additional measures are being studied at both the financial and regulatory levels, paving the way for appropriate decisions in accordance with legal procedures, ensuring the desired objectives are achieved without causing further escalation within Lebanon.

The source clarified that "the decision came in the context of increasing American pressure on Beirut to take practical steps against financing channels linked to Iran and Hezbollah. In this framework, the source pointed to the meeting held last month between the Lebanese and American administrations, where the American side stressed the necessity of dismantling Iranian financial networks and those associated with the Party. Information indicates that the American side requested during the meeting the closure of 'Bank Saderat Iran' and the withdrawal of its license, which was later confirmed by the Banque du Liban's decision, aiming to protect the Lebanese banking sector from sanctions-related risks.

The source noted that handling this file is not limited to the license withdrawal decision but includes completing the necessary regulatory and legal procedures to determine the fate of the bank, its branches, and its assets, pointing out that the Higher Banking Committee, responsible for examining banking violations and following up on related decisions, plays a fundamental role at this stage. Information indicated that the license withdrawal decision was officially communicated to the bank and the committee, amidst talk of repeated regulatory violations, without announcing their nature in detail or decisively closing its branches and pursuing illegal institutions linked to it.

The file gains additional importance given the bank's history and activity in Lebanon. Bank Saderat entered the Lebanese market in 1962, establishing its headquarters in the Jnah area of Beirut, with five branches in Ghobeiry, Baalbek, Verdun, Burj al-Barajneh, and Sidon, employing between 55 and 70 staff, with capital not exceeding 1% of total Lebanese banking capital. Meanwhile, the Association of Banks had suspended its membership in 2014. The source believes these data allow handling the file from the perspective of protecting the financial system and complying with regulatory rules, while emphasizing the need to scrutinize the legal and practical repercussions of any subsequent step.

American concerns regarding the bank are based on sanctions dating back to 2006, when the US Treasury Department accused it of facilitating Iranian transfers worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually to Hezbollah and other entities classified as terrorist organizations, most notably Hamas. In 2007, the department revealed that the bank transferred $50 million from the Central Bank of Iran via its London branch to its Beirut branch between 2001 and 2006 for the benefit of front companies linked to Hezbollah. Additionally, leaked records from the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association in 2020 showed eight entries linked to accounts of the bank, four in Lebanese pounds and four in dollars, with indications that these accounts and payments shifted to an illegal framework following the sanctions, including transfers to an association affiliated with Hezbollah under the guise of funding a hospital in a southern town, along with other transfers through businessmen linked to the Party to finance illicit commercial activities, as well as a shift to currency exchange operations and speculation on the Lebanese pound in the black market amid the economic and financial crisis that began in 2019.

The source concluded by affirming that the state is proceeding to address loopholes that could be exploited by illicit financing networks, but upcoming steps are subject to careful study taking into account legal requirements and avoiding any additional security or political repercussions.