The special commission of the Lebanese Central Bank on combating money laundering has ordered to freeze all bank accounts of the leadership of the Lebanese Customs Service and the port of Beirut amid an investigation into the causes of a devastating ammonium nitrate explosion, media reported on Thursday
DOHA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2020) The special commission of the Lebanese Central Bank on combating money laundering has ordered to freeze all bank accounts of the leadership of the Lebanese Customs Service and the port of Beirut amid an investigation into the causes of a devastating ammonium nitrate explosion, media reported on Thursday.
MTV broadcaster released a copy of a classified document obtained from the Central Bank that contains names of seven people, including Lebanon's Customs Service Director General Badri Daher and Beirut port chief, Hassan Koraytem. The document also contains a requirement to all banks and financial institutions in Lebanon to freeze all personal and joint accounts of these people and remove secrecy from their banking operations for the work of the judiciary.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese government ordered the house arrest of port authority officials responsible for storing, guarding and inspecting explosives since 2014, following the devastating blast.
A massive twin blast hit the Lebanese capital on Tuesday evening, leaving nearly half of the city's buildings damaged and producing scores of casualties. According to the latest data, the death toll from the blast has risen to 137 and the number of injured increased to at least 5,000. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless. According to the authorities, the incident was caused by the improper storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
