LEBANESE BANK SANCTIONED BY OFAC FOR HEZBOLLAH TIES TO BE SOLD OR LIQUIDATED

Sources inside Lebanon have confirmed that Jammal Trust Bank S.A.L. (JTB Bank), which was recently designated by the United States for its close association with Hezbollah, will be sold off, or liquidated. The primary reasons are that the bank no longer has access to the American financial structure, as its US correspondent banking relationships have been abruptly terminated, and it can no longer deal in US Dollars.

Reportedly, the bank has been known to American regulators as a financial conduit for Hezbollah since the early 2000s. This raises serious questions regarding how any US financial institutions were providing correspondent banking services to JTB. The US banks have not yet been publicly identified.

 It is one of the very few Shi'ite-owned banks in Lebanon, and services the Shi'ite Muslim community there, especially in the rural south of the country, which is Hezbollah-controlled. One rumor appearing in local media claimed that the bank took gold as collateral for loans from Hezbollah, and failed to register the transactions, so as to evade any record of its providing financial service to the designated global terrorist organization.