(Washington) The United States on Thursday announced sanctions against a Lebanese parliamentarian and two Lebanese businessmen, accusing them of corruption and of having “contributed to the disintegration of the rule of law in Lebanon”.
The businessmen Jihad al-Arab and Dany Khoury as well as the member of Parliament Jamil Sayyed “have each personally profited from the corruption and the patronage widespread in Lebanon, enriching themselves at the expense of the people and the state institutions” of the country, the US Treasury said in a statement.
Under these sanctions, all property and interests of the three men in the United States are blocked, according to the text.
Jihad al-Arab is accused by Washington of having, “because of its political connections”, won several public contracts “in exchange for paying bribes to government officials”.
Dany Khoury is for his part accused of having pocketed millions of dollars in public contracts “while failing to fulfill the terms of these contracts in a significant way”.
Jamil Sayyed, finally, according to the American authorities “sought to circumvent national banking policies and regulations”, and was “helped by a senior government official to transfer more than $ 120 million to investments abroad. “.
“During the 2019 protests, when protesters gathered in front of his home to demand his resignation, calling him corrupt, Sayyed called on the authorities to shoot and kill the demonstrators,” the US statement said.