Washington Imposes Sanctions on Lebanese MP Jamil Sayyed and Two Businessmen on Corruption Charges

On Thursday, October 28, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on two Lebanese businessmen and a parliament member close to Hezbollah due to what it described as widespread corruption undermining the rule of law in Lebanon. The sanctions targeted businessmen Jihad Arab and Dani Khoury, who have ties to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Christian politician Gibran Bassil, respectively, for alleged corruption related to government contracts. The Treasury Department's statement also mentioned sanctions on MP Jamil Sayyed, citing allegations of his attempts to "circumvent local banking policies and regulatory rules" to transfer $120 million abroad "presumably for personal profit for himself and his associates."