The Special Investigation Commission of the Lebanese Financial Intelligence Unit at the Central Bank of Lebanon issued a statement regarding the inclusion of Lebanon on the grey list. It noted that "in reference to the data and analyses not based on facts that have recently emerged, suggesting that Lebanon may be included on the grey list this week, we inform you that the mutual evaluation report for the Republic of Lebanon was discussed and approved during the working group meetings and the thirty-sixth general meeting of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), which concluded its work yesterday in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The approval of this report results from a lengthy process that extended over sixteen months, during which, under difficult circumstances, the Lebanese anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system was evaluated according to the methodology adopted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for assessing all countries."
The statement added: "The Lebanon report will identify the gaps that need to be addressed, as well as outline the positive aspects of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system in Lebanon. Therefore, Lebanon will need to take corrective actions to address the identified gaps and submit a follow-up report to the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) during the year 2024. In accordance with the applicable procedures, the approved report will be published in June 2023, after which we will issue an official statement regarding it."
