Lebanon is seeing a reduction in illicit financial inflows as the government moves to curb its cash-based economy, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber said, as Beirut seeks to comply with international anti-money laundering standards and avoid further isolation from the global financial system.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Jaber said the government’s priority was strengthening state oversight rather than monitoring the finances of political parties or armed groups, but confirmed that illegal money entering the country had declined over the past year.
“Definitely,” he said, when asked whether there was less illicit funding coming into Lebanon.
The reduction, he said, was the result of a deliberate effort to limit the use of cash in the economy, which has expanded sharply since Lebanon’s financial collapse.
“What we have been doing ourselves is actually working on limiting the cash economy,” Mr Jaber said. “Our objective, because as I said we are on the grey list, is that we don’t want to be sleepwalking to a black list.”
Lebanon remains under enhanced monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering watchdog. A move to the blacklist would severely restrict the country’s access to correspondent banking and international financial markets.
Mr Jaber decl
Continue Reading on The National UAE
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.