After Washington announced, on Thursday, the punishment of prominent figures In LebanonThe US State Department considered the recent sanctions an important step to enhance accountability there.
A source from the ministry added to “Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath”, that his country imposed sanctions on two corrupt Lebanese businessmen and a Lebanese MP, explaining that: US sanctions MP Jamil Al-Sayed Lahhat must transfer $120 million abroad.
He also continued in his speech, Thursday, that the goal of these sanctions is to dry up the sources of funding for these corrupt people, as he put it.
He also announced Washington’s support for the Lebanese people to form a transparent government, punish the corrupt and fight corruption, regardless of political and sectarian affiliation.
‘large-scale corruption’
This came after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Thursday on two Lebanese businessmen and a member of parliament close to Hezbollah for what it said was widespread corruption that undermined the rule of law in Lebanon.
The sanctions included businessmen Jihad al-Arab and Danny Khoury, who are close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Gebran Bassil, respectively, for what was said to be corruption related to government contracts.
The ministry also added in a statement, that sanctions were also imposed on Representative Jamil Al-Sayed because of allegations that he sought to circumvent local banking policies and regulations to transfer $120 million abroad, supposedly for the purpose of profiting for himself and his aides.
In turn, Jamil al-Sayed did not respond to a request for comment to Reuters. He said on Twitter that he would hold a press conference on Friday to talk about the matter.
Hundreds of millions of dollars
The Treasury also reported that both Khoury and Al-Arab secured government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, including garbage collection and disposal, thanks to their political connections.
Khoury did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Jihad al-Arab could not be contacted.
The economic crisis in Lebanon (AFP)
It is noteworthy that Khoury had won a contract worth $142 million to operate a landfill on the coast and was accused of dumping toxic waste and waste into the Mediterranean. Despite all this, he failed to address the waste crisis.
The new sanctions come amid an unprecedented economic crisis in Lebanon caused by years of irrational policies and corruption by a ruling elite that the United Nations says has left the majority of the population in poverty.
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