[ad_1]
Interim government Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said criminal scrutiny is no longer an internal problem, but an external demand.
The Minister of Finance of the interim government, Ghazi Wazni, considered that “the message of the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, to the House of Representatives, is very necessary, and the step he took is an internal and external requirement. The criminal audit it is no longer an internal matter. A request from abroad and the quick reaction of the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, to establish a session is very important. “
Wazni explained in an interview with the channel “LBCI” that “to verify is to find out the losses of the Banque du Liban and the reason for this great loss, and will also help to continue the path of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund”, indicating that Negotiations with the Fund have been halted because there is no reform in Lebanon, in addition to the discrepancies in the figures presented.
He continued: “The House of Representatives owns itself and there is a separation of powers and some positive aspects can be achieved during the session tomorrow.”
The Finance Minister stressed that “the criminal audit does not concern one person nor is it directed at a specific personality, nor the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, nor even the Central Bank. Rather, it is a comprehensive and complete audit which affects the Banque du Liban, ministries, public administrations and all Dawaya affiliated institutions “.
Wazni noted that “Kroll is not the largest auditing company, but it is better. It seeks the right to share the information it collects with other countries, hence the fear that the information will be passed on to Israel.” Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, the problem is not in the contract, but in the banking secrecy law, and Alvarez & Marsal has read the contract and considered it balanced.
He added: “We received a call from one of the international forensic auditing companies expressing their willingness to conduct the audit in Lebanon.”
And when he asked: Is the criminal audit incompatible with bank secrecy? He replied: For me, the matter is not inconsistent.
Wazni removed the responsibility from the Banque du Liban for what happened in the criminal audit file, indicating that the concept of bank secrecy should be defined.
He said: “During our meeting at the Baabda Palace with Álvarez there was talk of extending the period for the delivery of information to the company for three months, and the governor of the Banque du Liban was ready to provide additional information.”
In response to a question, he said: “I don’t know if there was any external intervention that led to Álvarez’s withdrawal from the contract, and two days ago we sent a letter to the company, surprising his retirement.”
He noted that Álvarez is asking for $ 150,000 in compensation for his withdrawal from the contract.
Regarding the support file, he said: “I did not closely follow the support file because it was with the support studied and the BDL reserves were running out in this way. support.
He pointed out that the Army retirees had not been paid their fees due to lack of funds, the Army Commander called me yesterday and assured him that I will resolve the matter in the next two days.
Regarding the budget file, he said: “The approval of the budget was delayed due to Corona, and the government has become an interim government.”
The Finance Minister affirmed that the debt and banking sector restructuring program is valid for discussion, prioritizing priorities and a requirement of the International Monetary Fund.
[ad_2]
