Cyprus central bank suspends sale process of FBME
Sunday, 3 August 2014
NICOSIA, Aug 2 (Xinhua): The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has suspended the process for the sale of the Cypriot branch of the Federal Bank of Middle East (FBME) pending a court decision, a CBC official said on Saturday.
FBME was taken over on July 18 by the Central Bank of Cyprus which later announced that the bank was up for sale after the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network accused it of being "a financial institution of primary money laundering."
FBME, owned by two Lebanese brothers who also own the Federal Bank of Lebanon, dismissed the accusation, saying a detailed assessment by an international accountancy firm over the past two years found it complied with anti-money laundering regulations of both Cyprus and the European Union.