Aoun Meets with Team from Firm Auditing BDL Accounts
President Michel Aoun on Thursday held a meeting with a delegation from New York-based audit firm Alvarez & Marsal.
The firm had launched an audit of the accounts of Lebanon’s central bank in September 2020, but was forced to pull out two months later because the central bank failed to hand over necessary data. Aoun said in October that the company had resumed its work.
The National News Agency said the delegation explained to Aoun the phases it has completed in its evaluation of the data it has received from the central bank.
“The evaluation is expected to be finished in the beginning of next week and the delegation expressed hope that the data the company has received would be compatible with the list of information it had asked for,” NNA added.
The audit is part of urgent reforms to unlock financial support to deal with an economic crisis branded by the World Bank as one of the planet's worst since the mid-19th century.
Some observers have warned the audit is unlikely to yield the kind of revelations that could hold Lebanon's ruling elite accountable for the alleged corruption and mismanagement that caused the collapse.
Experts had expressed doubts that the terms of the contract and the limited time given to auditors would allow for a credible investigation.
In December 2021, parliament approved a bill that suspends banking secrecy laws for one year to allow for the forensic audit.
Source: Naharnet
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