Difference between revisions of "Antoun Sehnaoui"
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| + | {{short description|'''Lebanese banker, chairman of SGBL, subject of a 2026 Lebanese wanted notice after a dinner with Benjamin Netanyahu'''}} | ||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = Antoun Sehnaoui | | name = Antoun Sehnaoui | ||
| − | | | + | | image = Antoun Sehnaoui PP.jpg |
| − | | birth_date = | + | | birth_date = {{Start date|1972|11|03}} |
| birth_place = Beirut | | birth_place = Beirut | ||
| nationality = Lebanese | | nationality = Lebanese | ||
| occupation = Banker | | occupation = Banker | ||
| − | | known_for = Chairman of [[SGBL]]; praised by [[Morgan Ortagus]] as a Zionist; named in | + | | known_for = Chairman of [[SGBL]]; praised by [[Morgan Ortagus]] as a Zionist; named in Al-Akhbar's report on southern land sales |
}} | }} | ||
| − | '''Antoun Sehnaoui''' (أنطون الصحناوي, born 3 November 1972) is a Lebanese banker, chairman of the [[SGBL]] group since October 2007, when he succeeded his father [[Nabil Sehnaoui]]. The group includes Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Société Générale de Banque in Jordan, and Fidus Wealth Management. In April 2026 [[Morgan Ortagus]], then a US Middle East envoy and reported as his partner, called him a committed Zionist from a family of “Lebanese Christian Zionists.” In July 2026 | + | '''Antoun Sehnaoui''' (أنطون الصحناوي, born 3 November 1972) is a Lebanese banker, chairman of the [[SGBL]] group since October 2007, when he succeeded his father [[Nabil Sehnaoui]]. The group includes Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Société Générale de Banque in Jordan, and Fidus Wealth Management. In April 2026 [[Morgan Ortagus]], then a US Middle East envoy and reported as his partner, called him a committed Zionist from a family of “Lebanese Christian Zionists.” In July 2026, after photographs showed him at a Washington dinner with [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], Lebanon's public prosecutor issued a 30-day wanted notice against him for "dealing with the Israeli enemy".<ref name="National30Jul2026">Fatima Al Mahmoud, [https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/07/30/lebanon-issues-wanted-notice-for-antoun-sehnaoui-after-dinner-with-netanyahu/ Lebanon issues wanted notice for Antoun Sehnaoui after dinner with Netanyahu] ''The National'', 30 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> In October 2026 the Beirut daily [[Al-Akhbar]] reported claims, attributed to people working with him, that he was seeking with Israelis to buy back large estates in the south; the paper also raised the possibility of a sale of [[Solidere]] shares to foreign-registered companies. These are the paper's claims; no sale has been published.<ref name="AJ">Al Jazeera, [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/17/controversy-as-lebanese-banker-sehnaoui-is-praised-for-supporting-israel Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel] ''Al Jazeera'', 17 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref><ref name="Akhbar">Al-Akhbar, [https://www.al-akhbar.com/NewspaperArticles/lebanon/906071 لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟ وثيقة أمنية فرنسية تشرح تاريخ التغلغل اليهودي (Why were property sales on the border banned? A French security document explains the history of Jewish penetration)] ''Al-Akhbar'', 3 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic; Hezbollah-aligned).</ref> |
== Family and the bank == | == Family and the bank == | ||
| Line 18: | Line 19: | ||
== The 2026 speeches and the dinner == | == The 2026 speeches and the dinner == | ||
| − | On 17 April 2026 he was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at an event he had funded. Ortagus praised him for backing a US-Israeli opera project, which she said was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family. Annahar and Ynet had already reported, in January 2026, that the two were in a relationship. | + | On 17 April 2026 he was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at an event he had funded. Ortagus praised him for backing a US-Israeli opera project, which she said was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family. Annahar and Ynet had already reported, in January 2026, that the two were in a relationship.<ref name="AJ"/> Sehnaoui announced on X in April that he had attended the Holocaust remembrance ceremony with Ortagus.<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026">Reuters, [https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/07/lebanese-lawyers-seek-probe-banker-over-netanyahu-dinner Lebanese lawyers seek probe of banker over Netanyahu dinner] ''Al-Monitor'', 29 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> |
| + | |||
| + | On 27 July 2026 Sehnaoui and Ortagus hosted a dinner at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington in memory of the Republican senator [[Lindsey Graham]], who had died on 11 July. Netanyahu's office said that he attended; an Israeli official said Sehnaoui and Ortagus had organised it.<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026" /> The Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of ''Axios'' published photographs showing Sehnaoui at Netanyahu's table.<ref name="ArabNews2026">Najia Houssari, [https://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/lebanon-opens-probe-into-banker-sehnaoui-over-netanyahu-dinner-2652717 Lebanon opens probe into banker Sehnaoui over Netanyahu dinner] ''Arab News'', 29 July 2026, updated 31 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Lawyers filed a complaint at the Court of Cassation accusing him of "communicating with the Israeli enemy".<ref name="AlMonitorJul2026" /> Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj then ordered the security services to locate and question him within 30 days, from 30 July, on suspicion of breaching the boycott law.<ref name="ArabNews2026" /> ''The National'' described the order as a 30-day wanted notice, which could lead to his detention if he returns to Lebanon. He has lived outside the country for several years and has publicly called for diplomatic relations with "Israel". He also faces separate money-laundering charges linked to currency trading at SGBL during the 2019 financial crisis.<ref name="National30Jul2026" /> | ||
== The south == | == The south == | ||
| − | After the Israeli occupation of villages south of the Litani was consolidated, owners of large plots along the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura reported calls from lawyers in the United States offering above the current market. The finance minister, | + | After the Israeli occupation of villages south of the Litani was consolidated, owners of large plots along the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura reported calls from lawyers in the United States offering above the current market. The finance minister, Yassine Jaber, then froze registration of sales in the occupied towns and sent parliament a bill to void them until the occupation ends. In the same report, [[Al-Akhbar]] said information was circulating that Sehnaoui, described there as a Zionist banker, was working with Israelis to “restore Christian ownership” of large southern estates sold to Muslims under duress, according to people working with him. The paper noted the Israeli use of Palestinian front buyers in Jerusalem, and the possible use of property companies. It also raised [[Solidere]]: a large shareholder, it said, could sell stakes to companies registered to people holding a foreign nationality as well as an Israeli one. No completed sale has been published. The bill is the state’s response to the calls; the claims about Sehnaoui are the paper's, attributed to unnamed people around him. See [[Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026)]].<ref name="Akhbar"/><ref name="LBCI">Maroun Nassif, [https://www.lbcgroup.tv/news/news-bulletin-reports/959515/a-new-law-could-reshape-property-sales-in-southern-lebanons-occupied-t/en A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns] ''LBCI'', 26 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.</ref> |
== See also == | == See also == | ||
| Line 31: | Line 36: | ||
* [[Lebanese Forces]] | * [[Lebanese Forces]] | ||
* [[Uri Tzafon]] | * [[Uri Tzafon]] | ||
| + | * [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)]] | ||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | [[Category:Lebanon]] | + | [[Category:Lebanon|Sehnaoui, Antoun]] |
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Companies|Sehnaoui, Antoun]] |
| − | [[Category: | + | [[Category:Zionist movement|Sehnaoui, Antoun]] |
Latest revision as of 09:57, 22 October 2026
Lebanese banker, chairman of SGBL, subject of a 2026 Lebanese wanted notice after a dinner with Benjamin Netanyahu
| Antoun Sehnaoui
| |
|---|---|
| Image | 
|
| Born | 3 November 1972 Beirut |
| Nationality | Lebanese |
| Occupation | Banker |
| Known for | Chairman of SGBL; praised by Morgan Ortagus as a Zionist; named in Al-Akhbar's report on southern land sales |
Antoun Sehnaoui (أنطون الصحناوي, born 3 November 1972) is a Lebanese banker, chairman of the SGBL group since October 2007, when he succeeded his father Nabil Sehnaoui. The group includes Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Société Générale de Banque in Jordan, and Fidus Wealth Management. In April 2026 Morgan Ortagus, then a US Middle East envoy and reported as his partner, called him a committed Zionist from a family of “Lebanese Christian Zionists.” In July 2026, after photographs showed him at a Washington dinner with Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanon's public prosecutor issued a 30-day wanted notice against him for "dealing with the Israeli enemy".[1] In October 2026 the Beirut daily Al-Akhbar reported claims, attributed to people working with him, that he was seeking with Israelis to buy back large estates in the south; the paper also raised the possibility of a sale of Solidere shares to foreign-registered companies. These are the paper's claims; no sale has been published.[2][3]
Family and the bank
He was born in Beirut. His mother is May Chehab Sehnaoui. He went to the Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour and then to the University of Southern California. He took the chair of SGBL in October 2007. In 2011 the bank acquired most of the assets of the Lebanese Canadian Bank. In 2017 it opened a subsidiary in the Abu Dhabi Global Market and bought Pikes Peak National Bank in Colorado. Cousins include Nicolas Sehnaoui and Khalil Sehnaoui. He has two children. He also produces film, through Ezekiel Film Production.[2]
His father, Nabil, chaired the bank before him. Ortagus, at the April 2026 event, described Nabil as one of the principal funders of the Lebanese Forces, which allied with Israel in the 1982 invasion and took part in the massacres at Sabra and Shatila. That is her characterisation of the family, made in his presence, at a museum he had given money to.[2]
The 2026 speeches and the dinner
On 17 April 2026 he was at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, at an event he had funded. Ortagus praised him for backing a US-Israeli opera project, which she said was “technically illegal in Lebanon,” and said he had been “trained to be a supporter of the State of Israel and the Jewish people” by his family. Annahar and Ynet had already reported, in January 2026, that the two were in a relationship.[2] Sehnaoui announced on X in April that he had attended the Holocaust remembrance ceremony with Ortagus.[4]
On 27 July 2026 Sehnaoui and Ortagus hosted a dinner at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington in memory of the Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who had died on 11 July. Netanyahu's office said that he attended; an Israeli official said Sehnaoui and Ortagus had organised it.[4] The Israeli journalist Barak Ravid of Axios published photographs showing Sehnaoui at Netanyahu's table.[5]
Lawyers filed a complaint at the Court of Cassation accusing him of "communicating with the Israeli enemy".[4] Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj then ordered the security services to locate and question him within 30 days, from 30 July, on suspicion of breaching the boycott law.[5] The National described the order as a 30-day wanted notice, which could lead to his detention if he returns to Lebanon. He has lived outside the country for several years and has publicly called for diplomatic relations with "Israel". He also faces separate money-laundering charges linked to currency trading at SGBL during the 2019 financial crisis.[1]
The south
After the Israeli occupation of villages south of the Litani was consolidated, owners of large plots along the coast from Mansouri and Bayada to Naqoura reported calls from lawyers in the United States offering above the current market. The finance minister, Yassine Jaber, then froze registration of sales in the occupied towns and sent parliament a bill to void them until the occupation ends. In the same report, Al-Akhbar said information was circulating that Sehnaoui, described there as a Zionist banker, was working with Israelis to “restore Christian ownership” of large southern estates sold to Muslims under duress, according to people working with him. The paper noted the Israeli use of Palestinian front buyers in Jerusalem, and the possible use of property companies. It also raised Solidere: a large shareholder, it said, could sell stakes to companies registered to people holding a foreign nationality as well as an Israeli one. No completed sale has been published. The bill is the state’s response to the calls; the claims about Sehnaoui are the paper's, attributed to unnamed people around him. See Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026).[3][6]
See also
- SGBL
- Solidere
- Morgan Ortagus
- Lebanese Forces
- Uri Tzafon
- Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fatima Al Mahmoud, Lebanon issues wanted notice for Antoun Sehnaoui after dinner with Netanyahu The National, 30 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Al Jazeera, Controversy as Lebanese banker Sehnaoui is praised for supporting Israel Al Jazeera, 17 April 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Al-Akhbar, لماذا مُنعت البيوع العقارية على الحدود؟ وثيقة أمنية فرنسية تشرح تاريخ التغلغل اليهودي (Why were property sales on the border banned? A French security document explains the history of Jewish penetration) Al-Akhbar, 3 October 2026, accessed 22 October 2026 (in Arabic; Hezbollah-aligned).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Reuters, Lebanese lawyers seek probe of banker over Netanyahu dinner Al-Monitor, 29 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Najia Houssari, Lebanon opens probe into banker Sehnaoui over Netanyahu dinner Arab News, 29 July 2026, updated 31 July 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.
- ↑ Maroun Nassif, A new law could reshape property sales in southern Lebanon’s occupied towns LBCI, 26 September 2026, accessed 22 October 2026.