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Following threats and intimidation, and the day after US Under Secretary of State David Schenker left Beirut, the United States imposed sanctions on former ministers Yusef Fenianos and Ali Hassan Khalil for their involvement in “corruption” and support for Hezbollah, that Washington classifies as a “terrorist organization”.
Schenker was clear in describing this step of sanctions, as he said: “It is a message to the party and its allies that the time has come for another policy in Lebanon,” highlighting the disagreement with France on the point of distinction between the wings. political and military “Hezbollah”, and agreeing with some who link the US decision with the pressure on Lebanon with the file that delimits the maritime borders, Schenker revealed that the maritime dispute between Lebanon and Israel will soon be resolved, without going into details .
There are many doubts that arise in the political aspect of the sanctions, which were postponed for more than a year, after the visit of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to the United States after the news of the inclusion of ministers of his government in the list of sanctions, and his encounter during this visit with a series of prominent personalities described as “spearhead”. On the record of US sanctions against Hezbollah, including Secretary of State Mark Pompeo and US Under Secretary of the Treasury to combat terrorist financing, Marshall Billingsley.
Hence the reason for “American patience”, whereby any decision similar to the decision to include Khalil and Fenianos on the sanctions list at that time would inevitably lead to the international overthrow of the last Hariri government, with US control. .
This is what brings us directly to the legal aspect, its questions and its effects, so what does the latest decision include and how will it affect the two men and internal politics, according to what law the sanctions were issued and how will Lebanon behave? ?
First, we must not lose sight of the importance of the role of the two ministers that led to the sanctions, as it is a precedent for the inclusion of a former finance minister, for his indications of the role of state finances in the empowerment of Hezbollah, in addition to the role of the former Minister of Works providing services to Hezbollah through the airport and the port, according to US accusations.
From this point of view, the legal expert, Saeed Malik, confirmed, in an interview with the Major General, that these sanctions issued by the United States Department of the Treasury include the banking and personal parts, and this makes it imperative that Lebanese banks and foreigners see if these two people have private accounts for themselves, their wives or one of the two families. In the interest of working to stop these accounts and freeze them, and to prevent them from being traded in their relationship, given that the Bank of Lebanon is obliged to implement this decision and therefore the funds of the two ministers, in accordance with the decision of the United States, are withheld.
Malik clarified that the asset freeze is intended for financial accounts, but when it comes to real estate, the United States Treasury has no authority to allow anyone to seize property in another country, in accordance with the principle of sovereignty, but what is meant is that the sanctions include the seizure of real estate, since they are real estate exclusively in America.
Furthermore, if the two ministers have an entry visa to the United States, then the ruling has been frozen and therefore there is a travel ban to the United States, and the travel ban does not include any other country.
The right to object
Although the United States Treasury issued the sanctions under an enforceable law, Malik noted that the two ministers can challenge this decision and assign an American attorney in the United States to file a formal objection that is specifically presented to the United States Treasury. the USA, and then this objection is accepted or not.
What law did the United States adopt?
In fact, the Lebanese state has long lived under the impact of US sanctions regulations issued by the “Office of Foreign Assets Control” of the US Department of the Treasury “OFAC” OFAC targeting leaders and individuals of ” Hezbollah “. In this context, two laws were passed, namely “HIFPA 1” and “HIFPA 2”.
The first law of July 9, 2019 resulted in the decision to include the names of two party representatives, Amin Sherri and Muhammad Raad, on the criminal list for “exploiting the Lebanese political and financial system” for the benefit of their party and Iran supporting it. At the party.
In preparation for “HIFBA 2”, several drafts were leaked, notably the inclusion of people belonging to the “Amal Movement” on the sanctions list. The US administration went ahead with the “HIFBA 2” issued in 2017, which came into effect in 2018, establishing stricter measures, such as imposing new sanctions on those entities that demonstrate their support for the party.
In relation to the above, Malik indicated that the punishments were in accordance with Hezbollah law and have nothing to do with the Caesar Law or any other law.
What is the political destiny of Khalil and Fenianos?
After the US decision, the analyzes were directed to consider the sanctions, especially against Minister Khalil, the political assistant to the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, as a direct political assassination of him that destroys his hopes of succession to Berri, and a message to the Amal Movement and the rest of allies, while it was noteworthy to include the name of the Fenianos minister as the first Christian in the sanctions list, which means that the sanctions will not only be on the part of the Shiite community, and the promise of punishments from other Christian figures is not a maneuver but a fact.
In this regard, Malik affirmed that the minister has signatures that bind the state, so the matter of returning to the ministries for both Khalil and Fenianos has become very difficult.
He considered that the presence of ministers sanctioned by the United States Treasury weakens the government’s position, and opens the door to justification for any foreign or European government not to cooperate with this government, given that this government includes people accused of corruption and financing of terrorism and others.
Who are affected by the sanctions besides the two former ministers?
Malik confirms that the main effect of these sanctions is at the banking level, so if there are direct financial deals with the two former ministers without going through banks, nothing prevents it, and this is confirmed by the experience of sanctions against Hezbollah representatives who do not have bank accounts.
In short, what links law and politics? Today we come to the conclusion that the path of accountability for the political class that established Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanon has come into force and we are promised shocking decisions in the coming days. Will the new political contract for Lebanon start from New York?
