BEIRUT: Alleged reports of capital and deposits fleeing from Syria to Lebanon will be the key issue raised by a senior U.S. official during his talks with Lebanese officials Thursday.

The U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser, who is scheduled to meet with Central Bank governor Riad Salameh and Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi, will convey Washington’s deep concern about reports that Syrian officials who are on the U.S. blacklist are trying to transfer their money to Lebanese banks and financial institutions.

Salameh told the Association of Banks in Lebanon that Glaser’s visit had been scheduled previously.

The visit comes on the heels of news that Washington is determined to apply pressure on any country that facilitates the transfer of Syrian funds, especially if they belong to Syrian officials who may have played a role in the crackdown on Syrian protesters.

But Salameh and bankers insist that Lebanese banks have not received substantial deposits from Syria since the crisis broke out eight months ago.

Bankers argue that the deposit growth this year has dropped compared to last year, proving that no Syrian cash has entered Lebanon.

A leading banker told The Daily Star that it is nearly impossible for any cash to enter the banking and financial system in a haphazard manner.

“Any penny that enters our financial system in Lebanon will appear in the balance sheets of commercial banks. There is no way billons of U.S. dollars [are] entering the Lebanese financial market without raising the alert of the Central Bank,” the banker stressed.

He added that banks have clear instructions to ask any person who deposits more than $10,000 where he got the money from.

But the banker suggested that money could be carried through the border illegally by smugglers, but they surely won’t dare to deposit them in the banks since they realize that this cash will be frozen by monetary authorities.

Salameh made similar these remarks in an interview with a Russian TV station, saying that the growth in Lebanon’s deposits dropped this year when compared to 2010.

The latest data supports his claim. Deposits grew 5.4 percent in the first eight months of 2011, compared to growth of 7.3 percent in the first eight months of 2010, according to numbers by data provider, Economena Analytics.

Salameh confirmed that no Syrian accounts have been frozen in Lebanon, saying that such a procedure is the prerogative of the Special Investigation Commission, a body affiliated with the Central Bank.

“The Commission has not taken any action against Syrian depositors,” he said, adding, “generally, this requires a decision by the [U.N.] Security Council.”

But a statement issued earlier by the U.S. Treasury Department said Glaser was expected to “highlight the need for authorities to remain vigilant against attempts by the Syrian regime to evade U.S. and EU sanctions through the Lebanese financial sector,” the U.S. Treasury Department said.

The United States had informally inquired about Syrian deposits in Lebanese banks last September as part of Washington’s efforts to tighten economic and financial sanctions on Damascus, media reports said.

Bankers confidentially say that Syrian deposits in Lebanese banks do not exceed $3 billion and that most of this money belongs to prominent Syrian businessmen and traders who have held deposits in Lebanon previously.

These bankers also claim that they will abide by any Security Council resolution in the future which may prohibit any banking and financial transactions between Lebanon and Syria.

“So far, the Security Council did not pass any resolution on this matter and for this reason Lebanon is officially not obliged to heed the pressure from any country,” a banker told The Daily Star.

Salameh and President of the Association of Banks in Lebanon Joseph Torbey have aggressively campaigned in Washington and other European capitals to dispel all rumors that Lebanese banks are a haven for illegal activities.

Torbey made it abundantly clear that Lebanese banks are well regulated and always abide by all Security Council resolutions.

Exchange dealers in Lebanon also denied some media allegations that they are receiving large sums of cash from Syria, adding that they are also under the strict supervision of the Central Bank.