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U.S. Seizes $150 Million Held in Correspondent Accounts for Lebanese Bank
By Brian Monroe
printThe U.S. Justice Department seized $150 million held for a Lebanese financial institution at accounts at five U.S. banks, as part of a crackdown on a purported terrorist financing network. The asset seizures, disclosed Monday, stem from a civil complaint against the now defunct Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB), which federal investigators accused in December of knowingly facilitating a fundraising scheme for Hezbollah. Soci?©t?© G?©n?©rale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) agreed to acquire LCB in September for $580 million. On Aug. 15, the Justice Department moved to seize money held for SGBL at Lebanon-based Banque Libano Francaise SAL (BLF). The forfeited...
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