Cairo: Kuwait has added Lebanon to the list of countries to which the transfer of charity donations is banned, a Kuwaiti newspaper has reported.
The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry has asked the Ministry of Social Affairs to put on hold all requests from charity associations seeking to conduct financial transfers to Lebanon on humanitarian grounds due to political and financial instability there, Al Jarida newspaper said.
“There are Kuwaiti fears that any economic collapse in Beirut will waste donation money,” the paper quoted an unidentified source as saying. “Due to keenness on safeguarding these funds, the related government agencies have seen it is necessary to stop these transfers until further notice and until the situation stabilises there,” the source added.
There was no immediate official comment.
The reported ban on donation transfers comes as Kuwait is investigating a number of suspects accused of offering financial support to the Lebanese Iran-allied Hezbollah group.
The case surfaced amid a sharp diplomatic crisis between Gulf countries, including Kuwait, with Lebanon after its Information Minister George Kurdahi has made remarks supporting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.
Lebanon is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades.
