US Officials Say that the Lebanese Canadian Bank’s Case was a “Warning”

Jay Solomon and Nour Mallas write for the Wall Street Journal on the latest effort by the treasury department to strangle Syria financially from Lebanon:

In the newest economic assault on the Assad regime, the U.S. Treasury Department, and its partners in Europe and the Middle East, have targeted what they believe are its principal financing channels now that its links to Europe’s banking centers have been cut off. […] A principal focus in this campaign, according to these officials, is Lebanon.

The Treasury Department earlier this year sanctioned one Beirut institution, the Lebanese Canadian Bank, for allegedly helping Hezbollah move hundreds of millions of dollars through the international financial system. […] U.S. officials said that the action served as a warning to Lebanese authorities that its banking system remained at risk if it is seen aiding Hezbollah, Syria or Iran.

You know how every now and then an article comes out in the Financial Times or the Wall Street Journal that freaks out Lebanese bankers and regulators? This is one of those articles.