US Treasury official pushes Lebanon to halt the flow of funding to Hamas

A top US Treasury official visiting Beirut this week pressed Lebanese authorities to prevent funds from being funneled to Hamas by way of Lebanon, officials say.

Jesse Baker, deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for Asia and the Middle East in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, met with Lebanese politicians and officials from the financial sector Thursday and Friday.

A Treasury official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters said Baker had shared with Lebanese authorities “specific concerns” about “the movement of Hamas funds through Lebanon, Hezbollah funds from Iran into Lebanon and then out into other regional areas” and called for “proactive measures” to combat it.

The official says that the groups need the flow of funds to pay their fighters and conduct military operations and cannot achieve their aims otherwise.

The Treasury official adds that, for Lebanon, showing compliance with global anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing standards is key to attracting investment from the US and the rest of the world and to pulling the country out of its protracted crisis.