Lebanese Canadian bank accused of ties to Hezbollah, money laundering
U.S. authorities on Thursday accused Lebanese Canadian Bank of possible international money laundering and are seeking to stop U.S. financial firms from doing business with the Beirut-based bank.
LCB, which maintains a network of 35 branches in Lebanon and a representative office in Montreal, operated as a Middle East subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada until 1988, but is now a privately owned Lebanese bank.
The U.S. Department of Treasury made the allegations by employing a rarely used measure included in the USA Patriot Act.
It alleges the bank facilitated the money laundering activities of an international narcotics trafficking and money-laundering network that moves illegal drugs from South America to Europe and the Middle East through West Africa and launders hundreds of millions of dollars each months through accounts held at LCB.
The Treasury also accused the bank of facilitating trade-based money laundering through used car dealerships in the United States and other consumer goods throughout the world.
The Treasury said the bank has ties to the terrorist organization Hezbollah.