Lebanese authorities carried out raids Wednesday (March 8th) against currency exchange offices and money transfer companies on suspicion they sent huge sums to the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL), AFP reported.
The raids started Tuesday and continued Wednesday against several institutions "on suspicion they transferred huge sums of money to areas controlled by ISIL in al-Raqa [Syria] and elsewhere", a judicial source said.
A number of people have been detained for investigation, the source said.
"Information is being gathered on the value of the money that was transferred," the source said.
Lebanese media has reported that as much as $20 million had been transferred to the group, but the judicial source dismissed that figure as "exaggerated" while conceding the suspected sum was nonetheless "huge".
On Wednesday afternoon, security forces raided three offices on Hamra Street in the west of Beirut, and seized documents and computer equipment, an eyewitness reported.
Afterwards, the premises were sealed with red wax and a sign from the military prosecutor warning against their reopening "under penalty of prosecution".
There was no official statement on the raids, or details on the number of companies that had been targeted.
Lebanon's Central Bank imposes strict rules on financial institutions intended to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, including caps on the amount that can be transferred overseas without additional supporting paperwork.
