BEIRUT, Nov 28 (NNN-NNA) – The Lebanese parliament voted in favour of financial audit of state institutions, including the central bank, local media reported.
Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, who urged lawmakers to enable the state to conduct forensic audit on the central bank, welcomed the parliament’s move. In a tweet, Aoun said, this was “an achievement for the Lebanese people, who want to know how their money and savings were wasted over the past years.”
The International Monetary Fund and other loaners said auditing the country’s central bank is the precondition for the crisis-ridden country to get help from them.
International auditing firm, Alvarez & Marsal, was task to conduct forensic auditing on the Central Bank. But the firm withdrew from the task on Nov 20, claiming that the central bank refused to provide necessary documents, citing the country’s bank secrecy law.
Lebanon defaulted on its public debt earlier this year and is mired in severe monetary and financial crisis.
The crisis has worsened with the outbreak of COVID-19 and the explosion of Beirut’s port on Aug 4.– NNN-NNA
