[ad_1]
Image posted, EPA
Michel Aoun talks with Saad Hariri and Nabih Berri about forming a new government to tackle corruption and end the political and economic crisis
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Saturday that he would seek evidence and documents from the United States to find out why he had imposed sanctions on his son-in-law, Gebran Bassil, a prominent Christian politician and former foreign minister.
Bassil leads the Free Patriotic Movement, a Lebanese political party ally of Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and which the United States considers a terrorist organization.
On Friday, the US Treasury Department issued a statement stipulating sanctions against Bassil, who is accused of participating in “systematic corruption that undermined the foundations of good governance in Lebanon.”
In announcing the imposition of these sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said: “The systemic corruption in the Lebanese political system represented by Bassil helped to erode the foundations of an effective government that serves the Lebanese people.”
He added: “This ranking also shows that the United States supports the Lebanese people in their continued calls for reform and accountability.”
Aoun asked the Lebanese foreign minister in the interim government to obtain evidence and documents from the United States, which must be presented to the Lebanese judiciary “to take the necessary legal measures (against Bassil) if data is available,” according to a statement in Twitter of the Lebanese Presidency.
President Aoun founded the Free Patriotic Movement, and his son-in-law Bassil joined him and previously held ministerial positions, including foreign affairs, communications, energy and water.
Bassil commented on US sanctions. On Friday, he said on Twitter: “Sanctions don’t scare me and promises don’t tempt me.”
“I will not turn against any Lebanese … I will not save myself so that Lebanon dies,” he added.
Hezbollah condemned the US move against its ally Basil, describing it as a scandalous intervention aimed at imposing “American conditions and dictates” in Lebanon.
Image posted, REUTERS
The US Treasury accused Basil of being one of the most prominent figures involved in systematic corruption in Lebanon.
There are fears that the sanctions will complicate the efforts of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to lift Lebanon out of its political and economic crisis and form a cabinet to address the collapse of financial conditions, which is the worst crisis in the country since. the civil war of 1975-1990.
Lebanon suffers greatly from rampant corruption and mismanagement, which has created a serious crisis and affected all economic activities in the country.
The US Department of the Treasury accused Basil of being one of the “vanguard of corruption in Lebanon” figures.
A senior US official said Basil’s relationship with Hezbollah and its support “was not the main reason” for targeting him with sanctions.
Basil was punished under the Magnitsky Accountability Act, which targets human rights violations and corruption around the world.
