Corruption: the United States sanctions a parliamentarian and two Lebanese businessmen

Published on : 10/28/2021 – 6:22 PM

The United States announced, Thursday, October 28, sanctions against a parliamentarian and two Lebanese businessmen, accusing them of corruption and of having “contributed to the disintegration of the rule of law in Lebanon”.

Businessmen Jihad al-Arab and Dany Khoury, as well as Member of Parliament Jamil Sayyed, “have each personally profited from the widespread corruption and patronage in Lebanon, enriching themselves at the expense of the people and state institutions.” country, the US Treasury said in a statement.

Under these sanctions, all property and interests of the three men in the United States are blocked, according to the text.

“Bribes” and circumvention of US banking regulations

Jihad al-Arab is accused by Washington of having, “because of his political connections”, won several public contracts “in exchange for paying bribes to government officials”.

Dany Khoury is for his part accused of having “pocketed millions of dollars in public contracts”, while failing to fulfill the terms of these contracts in a significant way “.

Jamil Sayyed, finally, according to the American authorities “sought to circumvent national banking policies and regulations”, and was “helped by a senior government official to transfer more than 120 million dollars to investments abroad. “.

“During the 2019 protests, when protesters gathered outside his home to demand his resignation, calling him corrupt, Sayyed called on the authorities to shoot and kill the protesters,” the US statement said.

With AFP