Wazni Denies Telling Audit Firm It Won’t Get Info Needed

The media office of caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni on Thursday denied remarks made in a statement released by Alvarez and Marsal, alleging the Ministry informed the firm it will not receive the information requested “in the near future” to conduct an audit into the central bank’s accounts.

Wazni’s media office issued a statement in that regard. It noted that Wazni had made it clear during his meeting with the firm at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, that necessary measures will be taken to deliver documents it requested after extending a November 3 deadline by three months.

The Minister noted that the agreement was made at Baabda Palace on November 5 in the presence of President Michel Aoun, ex-Minister Salim Jreissati, Director General of the Lebanese Presidency Antoine Choucair, and Managing Director with Alvarez and Marsal.

“In meetings held on November 4 and 5, the (Lebanese) Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Lebanon confirmed that the information requested by Alvarez and Marsal would not be forthcoming in the near future,” the consultancy said in a statement Thursday, announcing Alvarez’s withdrawal from the audit.