Stronger lift by Parliament
of banking secrecy provisions

Allows ten-year retrospective

Parliament has passed a law amending a 2022 statute that lifted banking secrecy. The amendment aims to bring Lebanese regulations in line with international standards and meet key conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic assistance.

The revised law introduces a ten-year lookback period, grants auditing firms access to financial information, and shifts implementation authority from a single minister to the full Council of Ministers.

The newly approved legislation also expands the powers of oversight bodies, including the Banking Control Commission, allowing them to access bank account details such as account holders’ names. The law applies retroactively, covering financial activities dating back to 2015—when Lebanon’s financial crisis began to take root before erupting in 2019. The measure is designed to improve transparency and accountability, especially in tracking financial activities that may involve corruption.

Under the amended law, authorities can now access suspicious accounts by searching for individuals’ names, rather than relying solely on account numbers. This adjustment is expected to facilitate investigations into financial crimes, including corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion.

The passage of the law follows the issuance of Decree No. 103 on April 2, 2025, which was approved by the government and submitted to Parliament for a vote.