The Legal Framework for Banking Secrecy in the Legislation of some Arab Countries (Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria)

Abstract

In reality, banking secrecy is known to be an automatic mechanism. It is the biggest obstacle to combating money laundering because those who commit these crimes go to countries that have absolutely no banking secrecy, even though the laws are not applicable in those countries. Furthermore, many countries use this system to encourage foreign investment. This creates a conflict with the fundamental principle of "know your customer," which applies to the majority of countries. Therefore, countries that implement banking secrecy have achieved considerable success in their economic policies. However, there is a problem with its application in balancing the principle of banking secrecy with considerations of banking prudence.