UANI Applauds U.S. Sanctions On Former Governor Of Lebanon’s Central Bank

(New York, N.Y.) — United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sanctions on the former governor of Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban (BdL), Riad Salameh.

“UANI applauds the U.S. Treasury Department and the Biden administration for sanctioning Riad Salameh, who enriched himself at the expense of the Lebanese people and was instrumental in transforming Lebanon into a sovereign money laundering jurisdiction. The Lebanese economy effectively turned into a Ponzi scheme on his watch. Though Lebanon has attempted to project a false image of economic solvency and legitimacy for years, a detailed analysis of its finances reveal fraud and market manipulation on a massive scale that has allowed a broad array of corrupt political forces to continue laundering money to support unjust enrichment at the expense of the country’s wellbeing.

“UANI has advised U.S. and European officials to take action against Salameh for more than a decade. Inaction by successive governments allowed Lebanon to slip deeper into turmoil, with rampant corruption and criminal conduct inflicting lasting damage upon the Lebanese people. Today’s action is a step in the right direction, but it is a decade late and billions of dollars short. The United States must not stop at sanctioning Salameh. It should also pursue a range of actions against Lebanon’s entire corrupt political echelon – spanning the gamut of the political spectrum – whose sponsorship of the country’s lawlessness have made it a breeding ground for Hezbollah’s terror and ability to sow domestic and regional chaos.

“The U.S. and its partners cannot ignore that Hezbollah receives hundreds of millions of dollars annually to carry out terror activities on behalf of the Iranian regime. Stronger and more decisive action is necessary to cut off Hezbollah’s economic lifelines and end the corruption and criminal activity that has engulfed Lebanon and which breeds precisely the environment required by groups like Hezbollah to grow their influence.”