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US Treasury imposes sanctions on Lebanese businessman

(WASHINGTON, DC) — The U.S. Department of Treasury designated four Lebanese and two German nationals and 11 companies as “Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers” pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.

According to officials, the U.S. placed sanctions on Merhi Ali Abou Merhi, a Lebanese businessman who owns a holding company with multiple subsidiaries across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

“Merhi has business dealings with members of the Lebanese-Colombian drug-trafficking and money-laundering operation allegedly run by Ayman Joumaa, who was placed under sanctions in January 2011 and charged in December 2011 with cocaine distribution and money laundering,” the Treasury said.

“Merhi Ali Abou Merhi operates an extensive maritime shipping business that enables the Joumaa network’s illicit money laundering activity and widespread narcotics trafficking,” said John Smith, acting director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. “The Joumaa criminal network is a multi-national money laundering ring whose money laundering activities have benefited Hezbollah.”

Abou Merhi Group has multiple subsidiaries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe including the following 10 designated companies: Abou-Merhi Lines SAL, a shipping line in Lebanon; Abou-Merhi Cruises (AMC) SAL, a travel agency in Lebanon; Le-Mall-Sidon, a shopping mall in south Lebanon; Queen Stations, a gas station in Lebanon; Orient Queen Homes, a real estate development in Lebanon; maritime shipping subsidiaries in Benin (Abou Merhi Cotonou), Nigeria (Abou Merhi Nigeria), and Germany (Abou Merhi Hamburg); Lebanon Center, a shopping mall in Jordan; and Abou Merhi Charity Institution in Lebanon.

The other Lebanese and German nationals on the list were designated for their management roles in Merhi’s various companies: Houeda Ahmad Nasreddine, also known as Houeida Abou Merhi; Ahmad El Bezri; Wajdi Youssef Nasr; Hana Merhi Abou Merhi; and Atef Merhi Abou Merhi.

On January 26, 2011, OFAC designated the Joumaa drug trafficking and money laundering organization as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Kingpin Act.

On November 3, 2011, Ayman Joumaa was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for coordinating the shipment of over 85,000 kilograms of cocaine and laundering in excess of $250 million in narcotics proceeds. Ayman Joumaa remains a fugitive, according to the U.S. Treasury.

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 News

Lebanese-American Texas billionare dies at 71

(FORT WORTH) — Lebanese-American business tycoon Richard Rainwater, who had a estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, died Sunday at his home in Fort Worth, Texas. He was 71.

Rainwater was born in Texas, the second of two sons in a Lebanese-American family. His father owned a wholesale business and his mother was a sales clerk at J.C. Penney.

A statement issued by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation said Rainwater died after a long battle with a rare neurological disease. He had been battling progressive supranuclear palsy since 2009 and had pumped millions into a campaign to finding a cure.

Among Rainwater’s career achievements was conducting billionaire investor Sid Bass’ acquisition of a major stake in the Walt Disney Co. and partnering with future President George W. Bush in the 1989 purchase of the Texas Rangers baseball team.

Forbes magazine listed Rainwater as the world’s 663rd wealthiest person and ranked him 236th in the United States with an estimated net worth of $3 billion in 2015.

The Bass family, heirs to Texas oil wildcatter Sid Richardson’s fortune, hired the Stanford Business School graduate from Goldman Sachs to manage its investments when Rainwater was 26, the statement said. In 1984, Richardson and Sid Bass invested $478 million in a struggling Walt Disney Co. and helped to install then-Paramount Pictures President Michael Eisner as Disney’s chief executive officer.

In 1986, when he turned 42, Rainwater went into business for himself and later helped to engineer Bush’s purchase of the Rangers, foundation of Bush’s personal fortune.

“I was so saddened to learn that my friend Richard Rainwater died this weekend. Richard had a brilliant mind and a generous heart. He was a lot of fun, inspiring to be around, and generous and courageous to the very end,” Bush said in a statement issued by his office Sunday.

Rainwater also mentored other investors such as David Bonderman, another Bass family employee who went on to become founding partner of TPG Capital. The firm has helped to recapitalize such businesses as Neiman Marcus department stores, Continental Airlines and Burger King.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes progressive supranuclear palsy as a brain disorder that causes serious and progressive problems with control of gait and balance, along with complex eye movement and thinking problems.

Rainwater hadn’t made any public appearances since 2010, according to the charitable foundation’s statement.

“There is an extraordinary untold story about his heroism and bravery as the symptoms worsened,” son Matthew Rainwater said in the statement.

Associated Press

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 Business

Qatari initiatives launch loans to support young Lebanese entrepreneurs

(DOHA, QATAR) — Qatar-based Silatech and Ibdaa Lebanon have announced the launch of two new loan products specially developed to help young entrepreneurs start and expand businesses in Lebanon.

Expected to create over 2,000 additional employment opportunities for Lebanese youth over a three-year period, both loans will be phased in gradually at six
Ibdaa branches.

While Silatech is a regional social initiative that works to create jobs and expand economic opportunities for young Arabs, Ibdaa is a leading Lebanese microfinance institution.

Through the Mashroui (My Project) loan product, Silatech and Ibdaa will provide an early-phase loan to help young entrepreneurs finance their startup businesses. The Shabab (Youth) micro loan product is designed to help finance the expansion of already-existing businesses.

Both products target 18-35-year-old Lebanese entrepreneurs who have businesses in operation for less than six months.

The launch of Mashroui and Shabab follows the signing of an April agreement between Silatech and Ibdaa Lebanon to jointly finance a Youth Loan Fund and collaborate on financial and non-financial products and services for Lebanese youth.

In addition to providing loan capital through Shabab and Mashroui, Silatech and Ibdaa are delivering enterprise training and financial literacy education to help young entrepreneurs sustain and grow their businesses.

Earlier in 2015, Silatech conducted a two-day “training of trainers” workshop for Ibdaa Lebanon credit officers, outlining effective communication and marketing techniques for Ibdaa to attract younger clients, as well as relevant criteria to consider when assessing risk among prospective youth clients.

Access to finance is a major stumbling block for young, would-be entrepreneurs in the Arab world. According to the World Bank, young people in the Middle East and North Africa region have the world’s lowest levels of financial access.

The region also has the world’s highest rate of youth unemployment, topping 30% in 2015.

While lower than the regional average, Lebanon’s youth unemployment rate of 21% is still markedly higher than the global average of 13%.

Silatech acting CEO Mohamed al-Naimi said, “Specially-designed loan products such as Mashroui and Shabab provide much-needed access to new financing and business support services for young entrepreneurs who are important job creators of the future, while also opening profitable new markets for financial institutions.”

“The Youth Loan Fund will aim at answering the needs of both existing business owners through the Shabab loan and startups through the Mashroui loan,” said Bachar Kouwatly, CEO of Ibdaa Lebanon, adding that the partnership with Silatech is part of a global youth-focused co-operation between Silatech and the Arab Gulf Fund for Development’s affiliates in the region.

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 Business, News

Federal prosecutors pursue Lebanese-American businessman for fraud

(LAS VEGAS, NV) — A Lebanese-American businessman could face more charges in a $190 million federal fraud case, as a federal grand jury recently issued additional subpoenas to testify against the high-rolling entrepreneur.

Ramon DeSage, 64, was charged with allegedly deceiving investors out of $190 million and defrauding the IRS out of $31 million. He is charged with 52 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.

According to court documents obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the grand jury issued subpoenas for witnesses to testify and provide transactions involving DeSage and his luxury gift supply business.

His company, Cadeau Express, was allegedly used to defraud investors between 2005 and 2012. According to the indictment, DeSage pocketed the money in the scheme to repay earlier investors, maintain his wealthy lifestyle, and cover millions of dollars in gambling losses at casinos along the Strip.

Court documents recently unveiled the names of several suspected victims, including former casino executive William Richardson, who allegedly lost $40 million in investments with DeSage.

DeSage and two of his employees have pleaded not guilty to felony charges. His trial, which is now set to begin on Jan. 26, has been delayed 10 times.

DeSage, also known as Ramon Abi-Rached, is currently under electronically monitored home detention since his arrest three years ago, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Damm has said in court that DeSage owned a 40,000-square-foot palace in Lebanon and more than $10 million in real estate holdings.

According to DeSage’s website, he was born into a “prestigious family” in Lebanon, educated in France, and worked for UNESCO for some time.

His website also says he is a “philanthropist” with a “noble character” and a “true example to all of us.”

DeSage has not been active on his Twitter account since Jan. 22, 2014, where he described himself as being “proud” of his Lebanese heritage. He also mentions he is a “father of seven children.”

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 Business, Lifestyle, News

Billionaire pays Lebanese teen $100k to skip college

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Move over, Mark Zuckerburg.

The billionaire co-founder of Paypal, Peter Thiel, has pledged $100,000 to a Lebanese teen for choosing to skip college.

18-year-old Jihad Kawas will receive the six-figure stipend and an elite group of mentors over the next two years — to participate in the Theil Foundation’s mission to inspire the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

Thiel founded the program in 2011 with the belief that college discourages students from being innovators and leaves them in piles of student debt.

Kawas applied to the program, along with 2,800 other applicants, and was accepted into the exclusive group of 20 fellows on June 5.

But it’s not all that surprising, considering Kawas started exploring the mobile app industry and launching mobile startups when he was just 13-years-old.

Then in 2013, at 16-years-old, he founded Saily, a social marketplace for people to buy and sell items on their mobile devices.

Meanwhile, in between business deals and marketing campaigns, he was a student at Houssam Eddine Hariri High School in Saida, where he recently graduated.

But Kawas felt school was obstructing — not advancing — his innovative aspirations. And that’s why he chose to skip college and focus on his growing businesses.

“We should spend less time learning about how things work, and spend more time making things work,” Kawas said during a TEDx talk in Beirut in February. “(School) does not relate to our interests and does not make us better at what we’re good at.”

Thiel, who has a net worth of $2.2 billion, agrees.

“Nothing forces us to funnel students into a tournament that bankrupts the losers and turns the winners into conformists,” Thiel wrote in The Washington Post. “But that’s what will happen until we start questioning whether college is our only option.”

Today, Thiel Fellows have raised over $142 million in venture capital and created at least $41 million in revenue.

Jihad Kawas is well on his way.

WATCH Jihad’s talk, “Why School is Not Ready for Us,” at TEDx Beirut:

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 Business, News, Success Stories

President Obama honors Lebanese entrepreneur

(WASHINGTON, DC) — U.S. President Barack Obama honored Lebanese entrepreneur Ziad Sankari for creating innovative heart technology during a White House global entrepreneurship event on May 11.

The White House invited emerging entrepreneurs from around the world to highlight the importance of investing in young businesspeople and innovative solutions. Sankari was among only five others who were honored.

Sankari started CardioDiagnostics in 2012, several years after losing his father to a heart attack. He pursued studies in understanding the electrical activity of the heart and how monitoring and analyzing that activity can save lives.

Today, his company uses FDA-approved wearable devices that are 24/7 GPS-enabled heart rate monitors allowing for heart monitoring centers to communicate diagnostic and preventive information to patients in the United States and Lebanon. The center has more than 40 employees.

In 2008, Sankari attended Ohio State University on a U.S. Fulbright scholarship. After returning to Lebanon, he was selected to pitch his idea at the 2011 Global Innovation through Science and Technology’s (GIST) Tech-I competition where he won first place.

Sankari received his first round of seed funding and traveled through various U.S. cities to expand his network, learn how to negotiate, and connect with mentors. Given his experiences, Sankari sees education as essential to successful entrepreneurship and to combat rising issues of poverty and extremism.

He hopes to support other startups and build a high-performing educational system in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East that leverages U.S. expertise and connections to open a world of opportunities to younger generations.

The event comes ahead of the President’s travel to this summer’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya and provides a unique opportunity to galvanize global attention on emerging women and young entrepreneurs.

Guest speakers during the event included Shark Tank stars Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, and Daymond John. The White House also named nine other top American entrepreneurs as Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, according to a news release.

WATCH President Obama recognize Sankari:

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 Business, News, Success Stories

Lebanese family become billionaires by opening Zara stores

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The Lebanese Daher family have become billionaires by opening 55 fashion and lifestyle brands in 14 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Daher brothers — Wassim, Said, and Hasan — own Azadea Group, a Beirut-based company that own and manage 600 retail outlets, including Max Mara, Sunglass Hut, Massimo Dutti, and Zara, among others.

Azadea’s largest collection of stores are in mega malls in the United Arab Emirates, which is the company’s most profitable country, according to a former Azadea senior executive.

The company employs 11,000 people and the brothers are estimated to have a fortune of at least $1.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Wassim Daher founded the company in 1978 as a multi-brand clothing store in Hamra Beirut. His brother Hasan and Said later joined the company as managing director and chief executive, respectively.

Said Daher says the company grew rapidly when it began exclusively purchasing and opening “already-successful” franchises in the Middle East.

“You can grow much faster as a franchise than if you’re operating your own brand. With a franchise, you’re implementing already-successful business models,” he told Beirut-based Executive Magazine in a 2005 interview. “Why bother establishing a vertically integrated business model which will take you years and years to perfect when you can get involved at the end of the supply chain and start opening outlets in promising markets in a matter of months?”

Lebanese businessman Said Daher, the CEO of Azadea Group, signs with Mall of Arabia to open series of fashion outlets. (Photo © Rana Moghabghab)
Lebanese businessman Said Daher, the CEO of Azadea Group, signs with Mall of Arabia to open series of fashion outlets. (Photo © Rana Moghabghab)

In 2011, the Daher brothers opened the Azadea Foundation, an environmental NGO in Lebanon, which is financed exclusively by Azadea board members and employees.

The Azadea Foundation is credited with the restoration of the 107-year-old René Mouawad Sanayeh Garden, the city’s biggest 22,000 square meter public garden, which underwent a $2.5 million makeover.

Azadea Foundation also planted over 8,500 trees in three plantation projects in the woodlands of Lebanon. The group plans to spread environmental awareness in school workshops and “Green Booths” in Beirut malls.

Meanwhile, the Azadea Group continues to grow, and the brothers say they will remain committed to Lebanon.

In January, Bloomberg reported that two Dubai-based companies were reportedly set to bid for a 25 percent stake in Azadea Group. The bids by KKR & Co, Fajr Capital, and Majid Al Futtaim Holdings are currently in the second round of bidding for the Lebanese company.

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 Lifestyle

Lebanese Safra family owns second most expensive house in the world

Brazilian philanthropist and widow of Lebanese banker Edmond Safra, Lily Safra, owns the second most expensive house in the world, according to Forbes Magazine.

Edmond Safra, Lebanese banker and founder of the Republic National Bank of New York, had major banking operations in Syria, Lebanon, Brazil, and Switzerland.

Forbes Magazine says Lily Safra assumed ownership of the property, which is considered a French historical monument and location for various Hollywood productions.

The home is valued at $750 million and features a 50-acre estate including “a commercial sized green house, a swimming pool and pool house, an outdoor kitchen, helipad, and a guest house larger than the mansions of most millionaires,” according to Variety.

The house was famously used as a set in the 1955 Hitchcock classic To Catch a Thief.

The villa was designed and built from 1929 to 1931 by American architect Ogden Codman, Jr., on an estate once owned by King Leopold II of Belgium.

The home was previously owned by King Albert I and was used as a military hospital during World War I.

See aerial photos of the home:

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