Head of Association of Lebanese Banks: Talk of 3 Banks on U.S. Treasury List Unwarranted

Joseph Torbey, head of the Association of Lebanese Banks, criticized on Monday statements that three Lebanese banks are on a U.S. Treasury list of banks suspected of conducting illegal activity.

He told LBC: “Such claims are a cheap promotion of a non-existent cause.”

“The Lebanese bank system is equipped with the best information and surveillance systems,” he added.

There is no information that any other Lebanese bank is on this list, he continued.

Torbey stressed: “The Lebanese bank system is safe and there is international approval of it.”

On February 10, the U.S. accused the Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in drug profits for a cocaine smuggling organization with ties to Hizbullah.

The bank has denied the accusations.

An agreement has since been reached to merge the bank with Societe Generale.