Global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF on Friday added Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers..., which is currently being pummeled by Israeli
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KABOOM!...
s targeting Hezbollah, to its "gray list" of nations that are subject to increased monitoring of financial transactions.
The Gay Paree-based Financial Action Task Force said it also added Algeria, Angola and Ivory Coast.
"Of course, we recognize the extremely grave situation that Lebanon is currently facing," said Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico, which currently holds the organization’s rotating presidency.
Lebanon’s being put on the gray list "should not impede relief efforts... and we are working to ensure that channels of humanitarian aid
remain open," she added.De Anda said that being put on the gray list was not a "punitive measure" and was part of the process of helping nations develop action plans to make improvements.
"I can tell you that there was a degree of flexibility granted to Lebanon as it relates to the deadlines set in the action plan," she said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the gray-listing was "expected, considering the known circumstances which hindered the establishment of the required legislation and financial reforms."
Lebanon since late 2019 has been enduring a crushing economic collapse that the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, and which has hampered the work of public services and institutions.
Political deadlock between allies of Hezbollah — an Iran-backed terror group that has been locked in all-out war with Israel since last month — and the movement’s opponents has also left the country without a president for almost two years.
"Lebanon’s relations with correspondent banks will not be impacted" by the classification, Mikati said, according to a statement issued by his office.
"Lebanon will continue to cooperate" with the FATF and will follow up on the move "in order to have it reversed," he added.
Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
was removed from the gray list and the FATF noted improvements, including in its ability to investigate and prosecute money laundering cases linked to corruption.
The FATF made no changes to its "black list" of nations against which countermeasures should be taken to protect the international financial system from money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from those countries.
Iran, Myanmar and North Korea
...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche...
are on the black list.