Banks Warn against Lebanon 'Isolation'

Lebanon’s Bank Audi is one of the banks charged by Judge Ghada Aoun (AP)
Lebanon’s Bank Audi is one of the banks charged by Judge Ghada Aoun (AP)
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Banks Warn against Lebanon 'Isolation'

Lebanon’s Bank Audi is one of the banks charged by Judge Ghada Aoun (AP)
Lebanon’s Bank Audi is one of the banks charged by Judge Ghada Aoun (AP)

Banks in Lebanon warned of the “gravity” of judicial accusations leveled against a number of them for “money laundering” and said that this will have repercussions on banking transactions.

In a first, a new lawsuit affected an Arab bank operating in Lebanon, which is the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK).

Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun charged two senior bankers from Bank Audi and Audi Group with money laundering for failing to lift banking secrecy on the accounts of senior figures at the firm.

The two bankers are Bank Audi Group CEO Samir Hanna, and Deputy Group CEO Tamer Ghazaleh.

Aoun’s move was based on a complaint filed by civil society group The People Want to Reform the System against banks “breach of trust and fraud against depositors,” as well as “misuse of public funds.”

Aoun called on several banks to lift banking secrecy from the chairmen and members of their boards of directors, supervisory commissioners, and auditors, under penalty of being prosecuted for the crime of money laundering.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) had issued a short statement warning against Aoun’s decision.

The ABL said the move may push major international banks to completely stop their dealings with Lebanon by closing the accounts of the Lebanese banks with them.

“Regret will not work if Lebanon is financially isolated from the world,” warned the association.

These accusations mean closing Lebanon’s financial outlets abroad, as correspondent banks can freeze Lebanese financial operations as a precaution due to filed lawsuits, banking sources explained to Asharq Al-Awsat.

“This means that no money transfers from Lebanon will be received by correspondent banks abroad,” sources added.

The move was described as “vengeful” by the ABL.

“Aoun’s move could transform the economy into a cash economy, which threatens, at a later stage, local money transfer companies as well,” banking sources warned.

The People Want to Reform the System said that BLOM Bank and Credit Libanais Bank, going against the ABL, had cooperated with Aoun’s request so far.

As for the lawsuit against NBK, a banking official told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun’s decision will be received as a negative sign by the Arab bank.

According to the official, this comes to worsen a decade-old trend of diminishing activity by foreign banks in Lebanon.

An indefinite strike by banks was announced last week following a general meeting of the ABL, although ATMs have remained open.



Biden Warns Israel against Iran Oil Strikes as War Fears Mount

US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Biden Warns Israel against Iran Oil Strikes as War Fears Mount

US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2024. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden on Friday advised Israel against striking Iran's oil facilities, saying he was trying to rally the world to avoid the escalating prospect of all-out war in the Middle East.

But his predecessor Donald Trump, currently campaigning for another term in power, went so far as to suggest Israel should "hit" Iran's nuclear sites.

Making a surprise first appearance in the White House briefing room, Biden said that Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu "should remember" US support for Israel when deciding on next steps.

"If I were in their shoes, I'd be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields," Biden told reporters, when asked about his comments a day earlier that Washington was discussing the possibility of such strikes with its ally.

Biden added that the Israelis "have not concluded how they're, what they're going to do" in retaliation for a huge ballistic missile attack by Iran on Israel on Tuesday.

The price of oil had jumped after Biden's remarks Thursday.

Any long-term rise could be damaging for US Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue.

Meanwhile Trump, campaigning in North Carolina, offered a far more provocative view of what he thinks a response to Iran should be, referencing a question posed to Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran's nuclear program.

"They asked him, 'what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran?' And he goes, 'As long as they don't hit the nuclear stuff.' That's the thing you want to hit, right?" Trump told a town hall style event in Fayetteville, near a major US military base.

Biden "got that one wrong," Trump said.

"When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later," Trump added.

Trump has spoken little about the recent escalation in tensions in the Middle East. But he issued a scathing statement this week, holding Biden and Harris responsible for the crisis.

- 'Wait to see' -

Biden's appearance at the famed briefing room podium was not announced in advance, taking reporters by surprise.

It comes at a tense time as he prepares to leave office with the Mideast situation boiling over and political criticism at home over his handling of a recent hurricane that struck the US southeast.

Biden said he was doing his best to avoid a full-scale conflagration in the Middle East, where Israel is bombing Lebanon in a bid to wipe out the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

"The main thing we can do is try to rally the rest of the world and our allies into participating... to tamp this down," he told reporters.

"But when you have (Iranian) proxies as irrational as Hezbollah and the Houthis (of Yemen)... it's a hard thing to determine."

Biden however had tough words for Netanyahu, with whom he has had rocky relations as he seeks to manage Israel's response following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

The Israeli premier has repeatedly ignored Biden's calls for restraint on Lebanon, and on Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

Biden deflected a question on whether he believed Netanyahu was hanging back on signing a Middle East peace deal in a bid to influence the US presidential election.

"No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None, none, none. And I think Bibi should remember that," Biden said.

"And whether he's trying to influence the election, I don't know, but I'm not counting on that."

Biden said he had still not spoken to Netanyahu since the Iranian attack, which involved some 200 missiles, but added their teams were in "constant contact."

"They're not going to make a decision immediately, and so we're going to wait to see when they want to talk," the US leader added.

Iran said its attack was in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah has been launching rockets at Israel since shortly after the October 7, 2023 attacks.