Lebanon

1963-01-06

France Street Pavilion Building, Villa Jihad el Arab, Downtown Mina el Hosn, Beirut, Lebanon

LR0073000, Passport

Jihad al-Arab (al-Arab) is a wealthy businessman being designated pursuant to E.O. 13441 for contributing to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon.  Because of close political connections, al-Arab has been awarded multiple public contracts in exchange for kickback payments to government officials.  In 2018, when al-Arab’s company won an $18 million dollar contract for the rehabilitation of a bridge in Beirut, concerns from municipal officials about the cost of the project and safety-related issues were quickly overruled, almost certainly as a result of al-Arab’s relationship with powerful politicians.  In 2016, al-Arab received a $288 million contract from the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) to build a landfill after garbage clogged the streets of Beirut, but as of 2019, the garbage situation remained urgent.  Reporting later revealed that al-Arab’s company added water to garbage containers to inflate their billable weight.  Al-Arab served as an intermediary as of 2014 to broker a meeting between top Lebanese officials in advance of the Lebanese presidential election, in exchange for two government contracts valued at approximately $200 million.

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0440

2021-10-28

US

Lebanon Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. part 549; Executive Order 13441 of August 1, 2007 Blocking Property of Persons Undermining the Sovereignty of Lebanon or Its Democratic Processes and Institutions

OFAC country specific

Lebanon

Blocking Property

On August 1, 2007, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706) (“IEEPA”), issued Executive Order 13441 (72 FR 43499, Aug. 3, 2007) (“E.O. 13441”). In E.O. 13441, the President determined that the actions of certain persons to undermine Lebanon's legitimate and democratically elected government or democratic institutions, to contribute to the deliberate breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon, including through politically motivated violence and intimidation, to reassert Syrian control or contribute to Syrian interference in Lebanon, or to infringe upon or undermine Lebanese sovereignty contribute to political and economic instability in Lebanon and the region and constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. To deal with that threat, the President declared a national emergency. E.O. 13441 then sets forth the actions ordered by the President.

SDN