Lebanon to Probe Lender Blacklisted by U.S. for Hezbollah Ties
- Central bank governor unveils investigation, says bank’s small
- Jammal Trust Bank denies allegations of financing group
People walk past a branch of Jammal Trust Bank in Beirut.
Photographer: Anwar Amro/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
Lebanon said it will investigate Jammal Trust Bank SAL after the U.S. blacklisted the lender for allegedly facilitating banking for the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
The central bank is to monitor the bank’s operations and look to see if it has violated the law, Governor Riad Salameh said in an interview in Beirut on Friday. He said that Jammal Trust was small, with deposits amounting to just 0.5% of the country’s total. All legitimate deposits at the bank would be guaranteed as the probe proceeds, the governor added.