Muhammad A. Baasiri Third Vice-Governor, Banque du Liban                                                             Biographical Information February, 2010

Dr. Muhammad Baasiri is the Third Vice-Governor of the Banque du Liban, the Central Bank of Lebanon. He is currently a member of the Higher Banking Commission, the Chairman of the National Committee for Coordinating AML Policies and oversees the following departments and units:

•  Legal Department

•  Real Estate Department

•  Financing Unit

•  Corporate Governance Unit

• Translation Section

Previously, he held several executive positions. From June 1990 through June 2000, he chaired the Banking Control Commission, and received formal recognition from the Lebanese Government for his service. Later on, he worked for one year as the IMF resident advisor to the Central Bank of Oman. In 2001, he was chosen to be the first Secretary of the Special Investigation Commission (SIC), Lebanon’s newly established Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

His tenure with the SIC witnessed numerous accomplishments. Lebanon was removed from FATF’s NCCT list and the SIC joined the Egmont Group. His efforts were also instrumental in both the founding of the Middle East & North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) in which he served in 2005 as its first year president, and the founding of the US-MENA Private Sector Dialogue which he currently chairs.

In the private sector, he worked for a number of premier banking and investment institutions including-internationally renowned accounting firms. He is a member and co-founder of the Lebanese Association of CPAs and a member of the American Institute of CPAs.

In 1974, he earned the Saba & Co. accounting prize. In 2008, he was selected by ACAMS as   “Professional of the Year” in the MENA region. In addition to his academic degree earned from the American University of Beirut, where he also lectured, he is a certified public accountant (CPA) from the University of the State of New York.