The Central refuses to provide information to Álvarez and Marsal

A senior government official revealed Tuesday that “the Central Bank of Lebanon refused to provide the international auditor” Álvarez “and” Marsal “with all the documents and information required under the pretext of bank secrecy and the money and credit law.

He said that “Alvarez & Marsal” has officially requested the Banque du Liban to provide it with about 100 documents so that it can carry out its initial investigation to determine whether there are indeed suspicious accounting irregularities.

The official confirmed to the newspaper “Daily Star” on condition of anonymity: “The audit firm seemed very unhappy with the reaction of the BDL and would study the possibility of terminating the contract with the government to carry out the first criminal audit of the central bank accounts. “.

And he stressed that “the parliament needs to modify some provisions of the bank secrecy law to determine the information that can be disclosed”, adding that “these modifications will facilitate the work of the central bank.”

He explained that “Alvarez & Marsal” can terminate his contract in early November 2020, and he will receive around $ 200,000 for the work he has done since signing the contract with the government.

It did not disclose the type of information that the company requested from the Banque du Liban, considering that “these matters concern only both parties.”

The Daily Star newspaper attempted to obtain comment from Álvarez and Marsal’s office in Dubai, but an employee said: “The company is not authorized to comment on this matter.”

Wazni told the Daily Star: The bank secrecy law does not apply to central bank assets, Eurobonds, foreign currency reserves, gold reserves, financial engineering and funds transferred outside of Lebanon, but it applies only to accounts. of depositors. Therefore, Álvarez and Marsal will have no problem completing their work.

The minister explained: “The only thing he amended in the contract is the clause of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, because that will complicate Álvarez and Marsal’s work,” and he wanted to give the company more freedom to do its work without having to return to the conditions set by the Egmont Group.

He added: “However, some legal experts have expressed concern that the Law on monetary, credit and banking secrecy could hamper Álvarez’s mission.”