Regulatory Alerts2001-09-27 | 7933Implementation Rules of the Law Regulating the Money Changer Profession
The Central Bank of Lebanon issued Decision No. 7933 and its attached Implementation Rules to regulate the money changer profession in Lebanon under Law No. 347 of 2001. The rules mandate strict licensing requirements, including identity verification, criminal record checks, and AML/CFT training for founders and managers, while capping Category B institutions' traveler's check holdings at $10,000 and restricting banking facilities to 50% of capital in foreign currency. Furthermore, the regulations enforce rigorous due diligence, beneficial ownership identification, transaction monitoring, and internal compliance controls to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and unauthorized fund transfers, with explicit prohibitions on depositing client cash directly into bank accounts or conducting transactions with bearer-share investment funds.