Cross-Border Transportation of Cash and Precious Metals

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Text / Section 1 / Circular 89 / Date 2023-07-31

Basic Circular for Banks No. 89 Also Addressed to Exchange Offices

We attach herewith a copy of Basic Decision No. 8024 dated 11/1/2002 concerning the shipment of banknotes and "precious metals".

Beirut, 11/1/2002 Governor of Banque du Liban Riad T. Salamé

1 - Addressed to banks and exchange offices pursuant to Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263), and was originally addressed to banks, financial institutions, exchange offices, and financial brokerage institutions. 2 - Title amended pursuant to Article 1 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263), and was originally: "Information on foreign banknote shipment operations to and from Lebanon."

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Basic Decision No. 8024

1. Shipment of Banknotes and "Precious Metals"

The Governor of Banque du Liban, Pursuant to the Monetary and Loan Law, particularly Article 70 thereof, Pursuant to Law No. 347 dated 6/8/2001 concerning the regulation of the exchange profession in Lebanon, particularly Articles 1 and 13 thereof, And pursuant to the Central Council Decision taken at its meeting held on 9/1/2002, Decides as follows:

Article 1: Exchange offices that ship banknotes and/or coins, bars, and bullion (hereinafter "precious metals") to and from Lebanon must comply with the following conditions cumulatively:

1. Be of Category (A) and have a capital allocated to the head office and branches of no less than 50 billion Lebanese Lira.
2. Appoint a monitoring agent for their operations from among internationally known companies.
3. Separate the accounting entries for the shipment of banknotes and/or "precious metals" from entries related to their other operations.
4. Comply with the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Law and other regulations issued by Banque du Liban and its Special Investigation Commission, particularly the system for monitoring financial and banking operations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, where applicable.
5. Appoint a Compliance Officer or a Compliance Unit to monitor the institution's compliance with applicable laws and regulations and recommendations issued by Banque du Liban, the Banking Control Commission, and the Special Investigation Commission, particularly the system for monitoring financial and banking operations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, where applicable.
6. Ensure that the Compliance Officer or Head of Compliance Unit undergoes continuous training in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing or obtains specialized certifications in this field, such as the CAMS - Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist certification specified in Basic Decision No. 9286 dated 9/3/2006 attached to Basic Circular No. 103.
7. Appoint an Internal Audit Officer to conduct internal audits of their operations. The concerned institutions are granted a deadline ending on 31/12/2011 to comply with the provisions of items (2), (3), (5), and (7) of this Article, and a deadline ending on 31/3/2012 to comply with the provision of item (1).

1 - Title amended pursuant to Article 1 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263), and was originally: "Information on foreign banknote shipment operations to and from Lebanon." 2 - This Article amended pursuant to Article 3 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263). 3 - Last amendment to the item introduced pursuant to Article 1 of Interim Decision No. 13434 dated 17/5/2022 (Interim Circular No. 621), and its Article 2 stipulates: "Exchange offices established prior to the issuance of this Decision that ship banknotes and/or 'precious metals' are granted a maximum deadline of one year from its issuance to regularize their status and complete capital increase procedures, under penalty of deletion from the exchange offices list and automatic revocation of their license."

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3. Separate the accounting entries for the shipment of banknotes and/or "precious metals" from entries related to their other operations.
4. Comply with the provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Law and other regulations issued by Banque du Liban and its Special Investigation Commission, particularly the system for monitoring financial and banking operations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, where applicable.
5. Appoint a Compliance Officer or a Compliance Unit to monitor the institution's compliance with applicable laws and regulations and recommendations issued by Banque du Liban, the Banking Control Commission, and the Special Investigation Commission, particularly the system for monitoring financial and banking operations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, where applicable.
6. Ensure that the Compliance Officer or Head of Compliance Unit undergoes continuous training in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing or obtains specialized certifications in this field, such as the CAMS - Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist certification specified in Basic Decision No. 9286 dated 9/3/2006 attached to Basic Circular No. 103.
7. Appoint an Internal Audit Officer to conduct internal audits of their operations. The concerned institutions are granted a deadline ending on 31/12/2011 to comply with the provisions of items (2), (3), (5), and (7) of this Article, and a deadline ending on 31/3/2012 to comply with the provision of item (1).

Article 2: Banks and exchange offices that ship banknotes and/or "precious metals" to and from Lebanon must provide the Banking Control Commission and the Banking Directorate at Banque du Liban, at the end of each month for each currency and each metal, with the following:

1. A. A monthly statement prepared according to Form (1) clearly detailing the total volume of banknotes and/or "precious metals" shipment operations to and from Lebanon. B. A monthly statement prepared according to Form (2) clearly detailing the number of times banknotes and/or "precious metals" were shipped to and from Lebanon. C. A monthly statement prepared according to Form (3) showing the total volume of banknotes and/or "precious metals" transfers within Lebanon resulting from operations conducted among these institutions and between banks and institutions subject to Banque du Liban's supervision that do not ship banknotes and/or "precious metals". D. A monthly statement prepared according to Form (4) detailing all banknotes and/or "precious metals" transfer operations within Lebanon whose value equals or exceeds USD 10,000.

1 - Added pursuant to Article 4 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263). 2 - Name of "Directorate of Financial Markets" amended to "Banking Directorate" pursuant to Banque du Liban Decision No. 11943 dated 4/2/2015. Reference: Press Release No. 910 dated 2/11/2015.

Article 3: Banks that do not ship banknotes and/or "precious metals" to and from Lebanon must provide the Banking Control Commission and the Banking Directorate at Banque du Liban with a monthly statement prepared according to Form (3) showing the volume of banknotes and/or "precious metals" transfers within Lebanon, resulting from operations conducted among these banks and between these banks and institutions subject to Banque du Liban's supervision that do not ship banknotes and/or "precious metals".

1 - Added pursuant to Article 4 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263). 2 - Name of "Directorate of Financial Markets" amended to "Banking Directorate" pursuant to Banque du Liban Decision No. 11943 dated 4/2/2015. Reference: Press Release No. 910 dated 2/11/2015.

Article 4: The monthly statements referred to in Articles Two and Three above must be sent on magnetic disks (Diskettes) within a period of ten days following the end of the declared month, regardless of whether there are or are no shipment operations of banknotes and/or "precious metals" to and from Lebanon or transfers of cash and/or "precious metals" within Lebanon.

1 - Added pursuant to Article 4 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263).

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Text / Section 1 / Circular 89 / Date 2023-07-31

Article 5: This Decision shall take effect upon its issuance.

Article 6: This Decision shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Beirut, 11/1/2002 Governor of Banque du Liban Riad T. Salamé

1 - Numbering of this Article changed from "Second" to "Fifth" pursuant to Article 2 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263). 2 - Numbering of this Article changed from "Third" to "Sixth" pursuant to Article 2 of Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263).

Annex to Basic Circular No. 89 Form No. 1 Bank / Exchange Office: List Number: Month: Year: Monthly Schedule of the Total Volume of Banknotes, Coins, Bars, and Bullion Shipment Operations to and from Lebanon

From Lebanon						To Lebanon
Country Name	Client Name	Currency Type	Shipment Value (Base Currency)	Amount Valued (USD)	Type of Metal Bars/Bullion/Coin	Value Valued (USD)	Country Name	Client Name	Currency Type	Shipment Value (Base Currency)	Amount Valued (USD)

1 - Added pursuant to Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263).

Text / Section 1 / Circular 89 / Date 2023-07-31 Form No. 2 Bank / Exchange Office: List Number: Month: Year: Monthly Schedule of the Number of Banknotes, Coins, Bars, and Bullion Shipment Operations to and from Lebanon

From Lebanon							To Lebanon
Shipment Date	Country Name	Client Name	Total Shipment Value (USD)	Type of Metal Bars/Bullion/Coin	Value Valued (USD)	Bill of Lading No.	Shipment Date	Country Name	Client Name	Total Shipment Value (USD)	Type of Metal Bars/Bullion/Coin	Value Valued (USD)	Bill of Lading No.

1 - Added pursuant to Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263).

Form No. 3 Bank / Exchange Office: List Number: Month: Year: Monthly Schedule of the Total Transfer of Banknotes, Coins, Bars, and Bullion within Lebanon (Delivery or Receipt)

Delivered To						Received From
Client Name	Within Lebanon	Currency Type	Amount (Base Currency)	Amount Valued (USD)	Type of Metal Bars/Bullion/Coin	Value Valued (USD)	Client Name	Within Lebanon	Currency Type	Amount (Base Currency)	Amount Valued (USD)

1 - Added pursuant to Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263).

Text / Section 1 / Circular 89 / Date 2023-07-31 Form No. 4 Bank / Exchange Office: List Number: Month: Year: Monthly Schedule Detailing Transfer Operations of Banknotes, Coins, Bars, and Bullion within Lebanon Whose Value Equals or Exceeds USD 10,000

Operation Date	Client Name Within Lebanon (Institution or Individual)	Address	Nationality	Registration No.	Currency Type	Amount (Base Currency)	Amount Valued (USD)	Type of Metal Bars/Bullion/Coin	Value Valued (USD)

1 - Added pursuant to Interim Decision No. 10726 dated 21/5/2011 (Interim Circular No. 263).