Lebanon primes itself for visit from US Minister

Lebanese officials are preparing for the visit of Deputy US Treasury Secretary, David Cohen, who is responsible for financial intelligence and the combating of money laundering.  He will take a tour on Tuesday where he will visit several Lebanese officials including the Governor of the Bank of Lebanon and the Association of Banks in Lebanon. Sources told Arabstoday that the visit carries warnings to Lebanon about the consequences of breaking the financial sanctions imposed on Syria and Iran. The same sources linked these atmospheres to the precautionary visit of Cohen days ago to Switzerland, where he discussed some financial issues related to regimes, countries and personalities who have been internationally sanctioned. Minister of Economy and Trade, Nicolas Nahas revealed to Arabstoday: “According to the prior information we have, Cohen’s visit is positive and there isn’t any negative information about the financial file in Lebanon — considering that the procedures applied by the Bank of Lebanon and the Association of Banks made our sector out of the international accountability framework till this date.” About the negative expectations of the visit, Nahas said: “Even if someone has such information, let’s wait till Tuesday to validate them. My information is positive and I’m waiting till Tuesday to validate it — and if God permits, it will definitely be good.”