Lebanon’s new finance minister has warned that individuals who exploited the country’s financial collapse could soon face justice, as sweeping reforms to the banking sector open the books on more than a decade of questionable dealings.

“If somebody’s done wrong things, he probably will have to pay for it,” Yassine Jaber told Al Arabiya’s Chief International Anchor Hadley Gamble in an interview on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings in Washington DC. “Everybody who’s been doing the right things has no problem. But if not—they should be worried.”

Jaber’s appointment to the finance ministry comes as part of Lebanon’s newly installed government, raising fresh hopes of reform after years of paralysis. A former economy minister and long-serving MP, Jaber is now spearheading efforts to restore confidence in the banking system, secure an IMF agreement, and tackle systemic corruption in critical sectors including electricity, telecoms and customs.

Central to those efforts is a newly passed amendment to Lebanon’s bank secrecy law, which gives regulators full access to bank accounts dating back ten years.

“Now it’s very clear—they have full access to all accounts, with names and amounts and everything,” Jaber said. “This has to happen.”

Previously, vague language in the 2022 reforms prevented the Banking Control Commission and the central bank from carrying out comprehensive investigations. The latest revision, which passed through cabinet and joint parliamentary committees last week, enables authorities to identify transfers, examine unusually high interest returns, and uncover any misuse of depositor funds.

“We’re not the judges,” Jaber said. “But we’ve given them the tools. And they’re going to use them.”

The reforms come amid ongoing negotiations with the IMF, which Jaber confirmed had held two rounds of talks with the Lebanese delegation.

“The IMF is not just about money,” he said. “It’s about getting the certificate. It’s the door we have to go through to return to the world.”

A new law regulating the banking sector has also been passed by cabinet and referred to the finance committee. Jaber said the new framework would require all operating banks to meet international capital adequacy standards, with some likely to be consolidated or recapitalised. “We are not out to get the banks. We are out to make them healthy,” he said.

As part of its deal with the IMF, Lebanon has committed to a phased approach to returning deposits.

“We’re not cancelling deposits,” Jaber said. “We’re starting the process of getting the money back—gradually.” He said the government would begin with small depositors—who account for 84 per cent of the total—and later offer larger depositors structured repayments, including through bonds. “There’s not a single banking system in the world that can give all the money to all the depositors at the same time,” he said.

Beyond the financial sector, Jaber outlined a broader plan to tackle corruption and modernise public institutions. He confirmed that Lebanon would finally implement long-stalled reforms to the electricity sector, allowing private firms to participate in generation, distribution and collection, while the state retains ownership of the transmission network.

“Corruption thrived because we didn’t apply the law. Now we are,” he said. “There’ll be regulatory bodies—not ministers—running these sectors.”

In telecoms, the state-owned operator OGERO is to be transformed into Liban Telecom, a publicly owned company with 30 to 40 per cent to be sold to international private investors. It will hold licences for both mobile and fixed-line services. A similar overhaul is planned in the internet sector. Jaber said more than 500 candidates had applied for the telecom regulator roles, many of them Lebanese professionals returning from abroad.

Customs enforcement is also set for a major overhaul. Jaber plans to install AI-powered x-ray scanners across ports, border crossings and container terminals to detect undervalued or misdeclared goods. The government will use build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreements to ensure maintenance and accountability.

“We’re not going to buy them,” he said. “I want those who provide them to maintain them.”

Tax reform will focus on enforcement rather than new levies. “We’re not going to butcher people with new taxes,” he said. “But we will collect what is owed.” He said a new data centre is being developed at the finance ministry to centralise revenue services and support a broader plan to digitalise all government ministries with support from the World Bank.

Asked about foreign direct investment from the Gulf, Jaber acknowledged that regional powers had tied potential aid to political outcomes, particularly the question of Hezbollah.

“They stress reforms and IMF—but also, without saying it, everyone is waiting for the implementation of [UN Security Council Resolution] 1701,” he said, referring to the international demand for Hezbollah to disarm and for Lebanese state authority to be restored across the country.

Despite the scale of the crisis, Jaber expressed cautious optimism about Lebanon’s future.

“Lebanon could come back quickly,” he said. “It’s a small country. Lebanon could come back quickly, especially with all the geopolitical changes happening around us.” He added: “It has the potential. It has the human resources. It has the diaspora, which actually, in spite of everything, has kept Lebanon floating.”