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Lebanon extended the deadline for submitting the data needed for a central bank criminal audit after refusing to provide certain information on grounds of bank secrecy.
This comes, as announced by the Finance Minister of the Lebanese interim government, Ghazi Wazni, on Thursday, and reported by Reuters.
The interim prime minister and three sources familiar with the matter said the Lebanese Central Bank withheld the information requested by Alvarez & Marsal Consulting to initiate the audit, which is a key requirement for foreign financial assistance to help Lebanon cope with a financial collapse.
“During the three months, the Lebanese government will try to deliver documents that allow the company to carry out the tasks stipulated in the criminal audit contract,” Wazni said in a televised press release after a meeting with the Lebanese president, the governor of the Banque du Liban and an official from Alvarez & Marsal.
He added that “the criminal audit is a reform step par excellence, and President (Michel) Aoun stressed the importance of his commitment.”
The Banque du Liban said in a statement Wednesday that it had submitted its accounts for the sake of the audit, but it is the government that must submit all state accounts to the specialized body that Lebanon appointed this year, “which prevents the Banque du Liban violates confidentiality laws. ”
Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who was appointed to the post last month, is trying to form a government under the sectarian political system that governs the country to implement reforms that address Lebanon’s worst crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, which includes paralysis in the banking sector, currency collapse and widespread poverty. .
