Lebanon’s central bank announced Friday a series of new restrictions on money changers and transfer companies, in a move widely seen as a response to mounting US pressure to dismantle Hezbollah’s financial lifelines, AFP reported.
The decision comes days after a visiting American official declared Washington’s intent to sever Tehran’s funding to Hezbollah. According to the US Treasury, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have funneled over $1 billion to the terror group this year, primarily through Lebanese money exchange firms.
Lebanese authorities, under growing international scrutiny, are seeking to disarm Hezbollah, which suffered significant losses in its recent war with Israel. The US is urging Beirut to accelerate the process amid concerns of further Israeli military escalation.
In its statement, the central bank said the measures are part of efforts “to remove Lebanon from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list,” and described them as “the first step in a series of precautionary measures aiming to strengthen the compliance environment within the financial sector.”
Lebanon was added to the FATF’s grey list in October last year, placing it under increased monitoring for financial irregularities.
The new regulations apply to “all non-bank financial institutions licensed by the central bank of Lebanon, including money transfer companies, exchange bureaus,” and other entities handling foreign currency transactions. Starting December 1, these institutions must “collect information and data linked to their customers and operations” for any transaction of $1,000 or more and report it to the central bank. Transactions may not proceed until the required data is confirmed.
Hezbollah has responded with defiance. On Thursday, its parliamentary bloc condemned “US efforts to tighten the financial siege on Lebanon” and accused Washington of seeking to impose “financial guardianship” over the country.
Hezbollah was also to disarm as part of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, which went into effect last November.
Lebanon’s cabinet recently tasked the army with formulating a plan for disarming Hezbollah by the end of 2025.
The terrorist group’s leader, Naim Qassem, condemned the Lebanese government’s plan to disarm the terror organization. He has repeatedly vowed that Hezbollah would keep its arms.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
