Lebanon

Art. 4(4) of Law 44/2015 requires records to be kept for at least five years after the operation or the end of the business relationship, whichever is longer. Basic Decision 7818 Art. 3(5) also sets a five-year minimum for customer, beneficial owner and operation records.

Art. 4 of Law 44/2015 requires banks and financial institutions to apply due diligence to permanent customers, to transient customers above a threshold set by Banque du Liban, and to identify and verify the beneficial owner (Art. 4(1)-(3)); due diligence applies regardless of thresholds where there is doubt or suspicion (Art. 4(6)). Art. 5 extends the duty to other listed institutions and professions. Basic Decision 7818 Art. 9 bis sets beneficial owner rules for legal persons, including a 20% capital threshold.

Art. 7 of Law 44/2015 requires the parties covered by Arts. 4 and 5, including certified accountants and notaries, to report suspicious operations promptly to the Chairman of the SIC; lawyers report under a mechanism set by the Beirut and Tripoli Bar Associations. Art. 11 prohibits disclosing that a report has been or will be made. The Law states 'promptly' and no number of days.