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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2012
Phone: (212) 554-3296
UANI Calls on Byblos Bank Chairman François Bassil to Clarify his Remarks about UANI's Lebanese Banking System Campaign
Chairman Bassil's statements are baseless and overlook the large-scale impact of Hizballah, Iran and Syria in the Lebanese banking system, all under the oversight of Riad Salame, Lebanon's Central Bank Governor. Investors are fleeing Lebanese debt securities because of the clear and unambiguous influence of Hizballah, Iran, and Syria in perpetuating a sovereign-backed money laundering scheme that artificially supports Lebanon's economy.
We remain confident that the U.S. Treasury will take further action on Lebanon's banks.
We call on Chairman Bassil to clarify his remarks and to answer the same questions we recently posed to Governor Riad Salame:
1. Do you disagree that Hizballah is the dominant political party in Lebanon?
2. Do you disagree with Hassan Nasrallah when he said:
a. "By the same means that we got weapons and other stuff, money came as well ... All of this has been achieved through Iranian money!" (Neil MacFarquhar, "Iran Is Seeking Lebanon Stake As Syria Totters," The New York Times, 5/24/12)
b. That Iran is the dominant financial supporter of Hizballah? (Hurriyet Daily News, "Iran Funds Hezbollah, Leader Nasrallah admits," 2/ 9/12)
3. Do you disagree with the statement that "While Iran continues to provide a significant portion of Hizballah's funding, Hizballah has also broadened its sources of financial support in recent years. Hizballah is now heavily involved in a wide range of criminal activity, including the drug trade and smuggling." (United States of America v. Lebanese Canadian Bank SAL, et al., 11 Civ., at p. 19, 12/15/11)
5. Can you definitively say that BDL has not:
a. Transacted or held accounts with or for any Iranian institutions or persons?
b. Transacted with the Iranian Central Bank, Bank Markazi?
c. Facilitated through the Lebanese banking system the illicit Iranian support of Hizballah and Iranian weapons sales and support of Hizballah and Syria's illegitimate Assad regime?
Byblos Bank is Lebanon's third largest bank in terms of assets. Byblos Bank continues to operate in Syria amidst the uprising against the Syrian regime that reportedly has left more than 17,000 people dead.
Click here to read the Daily Star article, "Lenders expect Lebanese banks profits to fall."
Click here to view UANI's research, "HIZBALLAH, LEBANON & IRAN: PARTNERS IN A SOVEREIGN MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME."
Click here to read UANI's May 28 letter to Riad Salame.
Click here to call on the U.S. Government to Sanction the Lebanese Banking System and for Bond Holders and Credit Agencies to end Lebanon Business.
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United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran should concern every American and be unacceptable to the community of nations. Since 1979 the Iranian regime, most recently under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership, has demonstrated increasingly threatening behavior and rhetoric toward the US and the West. Iran continues to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations in their attempts to monitor its nuclear activities. A number of Arab states have warned that Iran's development of nuclear weapons poses a threat to Middle East stability and could provoke a regional nuclear arms race. In short, the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran is a danger to world peace.
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons. UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.
The Objectives of United Against a Nuclear Iran
- Inform the public about the nature of the Iranian regime, including its desire and intent to possess nuclear weapons, as well as Iran's role as a state sponsor of global terrorism, and a major violator of human rights at home and abroad;
- Heighten awareness nationally and internationally about the danger that a nuclear armed Iran poses to the region and the world;
- Mobilize public support, utilize media outreach, and persuade our elected leaders to voice a robust and united American opposition to a nuclear Iran;
- Lay the groundwork for effective US policies in coordination with European and other allies;
- Persuade the regime in Tehran to desist from its quest for nuclear weapons, while striving not to punish the Iranian people, and;
- Promote efforts that focus on vigorous national and international, social, economic, political and diplomatic measures.
UANI is led by an advisory board of outstanding national figures representing all sectors of our country. |
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