Lebanon's Central Bank announced Thursday (September 19th) it had agreed to the self-liquidation request it received from a bank hit by US sanctions last month over ties with Hizbullah, AFP reported.
"Central Bank governor Riad Salameh announced today he approved the request made by Jammal Trust Bank SAL," the National News Agency (NNA) reported.
On August 29th, Washington slapped heavy financial sanctions on Jammal Trust Bank, which was accused of acting as a key financial institution for Hizbullah.
The US Treasury said the bank was used for enabling several of the party’s financial activities, "including sending payments to families of suicide bombers".
According to the NNA, Salameh stressed that the value of the bank's assets and of its contribution to the national deposit guarantee body were sufficient "in principle" to pay back all deposits and fulfill obligations.
Iran-backed Hizbullah has been a US-designated terrorist group since 1997.
Jammal Trust Bank had specialised in micro-credit in remote areas of the country's south, which is also Hizbullah's heartland.
