Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a meeting with Abdel Hafiz Mansour, the Secretary General of the Special Investigative Anti-Money Laundry and Terrorism Funding Committee on Monday, May 29, at the Grand Serail. Their meeting revolved around the minutes of the 36th financial meeting of the MENA region in Bahrain.
Following the meeting, Mansour said that he briefed the prime minister on Lebanon’s level of compliance with anti-money laundry procedures based on a 16-month evaluation period.
“We have to wait until the full report is published in around a month. Before then, we cannot discuss any practical measures,” Mansour added.
“The evaluation process adheres to very high standards, which justifies the intense debate to prove Lebanon’s commitment,” Mansour concluded.
Conflicting information circulated last week regarding Lebanon’s financial rating being dropped to the grey zone. The special investigative committee clarified the matter by saying that several gaps are being addressed in order to meet the required standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The Special Investigation Commission had previously stated that “Lebanon’s Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) was discussed and adopted during the 36th plenary and work group meetings of Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF).”
