The United States has accused two former Lebanese ministers of involvement in a corruption scandal linked to Hezbollah and announced sanctions against the two members of the Lebanese parliamentary majority who belong to the Shiite Islamist and Maronite Catholic parties, respectively.
The two Lebanese dignitaries sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department are well-known celebrities who belong to two parties allied with Hezbollah, RFI’s French correspondent Paul K. reported from Beirut on Wednesday (September 9, 2020). One of them, former Finance Minister H. Khalil, who just left his post in early 2020, is the closest aide to the current speaker and heads a Shiite movement group. The other, former Minister of Transportation and Public Works Y. Fenianos, also recently departed in early 2020, is a close associate of the Catholic Maronite leader of North Lebanon.
The U.S. decision to impose sanctions is a turn of events. It is the first time that two members of Lebanon’s ruling coalition or parliamentary majority have been targeted. In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department accused the two Lebanese figures of corruption for equipping and supporting Hezbollah.
Our RFI correspondent in Beirut noted that there was no immediate reaction to the U.S. decision to impose sanctions from the political parties associated with the two Lebanese dignitaries. Discussions on social media about the U.S. sanctions have been heated.
Within the Hariri family, businessman B. Hariri, who is competing with his brother S. Hariri for the position of Sunni leader in Lebanon, welcomed the U.S. sanctions decision. In contrast, a former pro-Hezbollah minister criticized the U.S. sanctions as politicized and unjust.
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