Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil called on behalf of Amal and Speaker Nabih Berri for the publishing of an audit report submitted by the Alvarez & Marsal international auditing firm on the activities of the Banque du Liban.
But the finance ministry which is headed by Finance Minister Youssef Khalil a key Amal member who is closely associated with Berri , denies receiving the final report , even though Alvarez & Marsal had assured him that he would receive the report before the end of 2022.
It was originally scheduled for delivery on September 27, 2022
Ali Hussein an analyst told Ya Libnan which Khalil is telling the truth?
MP Khalil’s comments come after the Political Bureau of the Lebanese Phalange Party, led by party president and Member of Parliament Sami Gemayel, demanded last Wednesday the release of the Alvarez & Marsal forensic audit report:
“The Lebanese people have been waiting for over a year for the release the forensic audit report of Alvarez & which is supposed to reveal the truth on the activities of the Banque du Liban”
Minister Khalil was accused of withholding the report
“In solidarity and cooperation with the ruling system, the Minister of Finance decided to withhold the results from the Lebanese people, who have suffered the loss of more than 100 billion dollars of their money, with no knowledge of the truth.”
“The Phalange Party demands the immediate release of the report and its publication, enabling the judiciary to perform its duty and hold those responsible for the country’s bankruptcy accountable while allowing members of parliament to carry out their legislative and oversight roles in the financial realm.”
But the Finance Ministry denied accusations that it has been “hiding ” the report submitted by Alvarez & Marsal and described the accusations as fake news “
According to the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper the report was received by the minister of Finance and consists of around 330 pages and is supposed to reveal the types and dates of the possible financial crimes committed by the Central bank chief Riad Salaameh and the ruing elite.
Here is what LBC reported on December 7, 2022
“A &M had assured Finance Minister Youssef Khalil that he would receive the initial report before the end of this year (2022), noting that it was scheduled for delivery on September 27, especially since the company had begun its work on June 27. “
“This initial report will also address BDL work between 2015 and 2021. Alvarez & Marsal will, however, be paid the remaining 10% of the contract’s overall value, or $2,700,000, when it submits its report.” LBC added.
The International Monetary Fund and France are among creditors that demanded an audit of Lebanon’s central bank as part of urgent reforms to unlock financial support, as the country faces a grinding economic crisis.
As allegations of mismanagement and corruption began to mount at the central bank, the Lebanese government commissioned consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) to conduct a forensic audit in September 2020.
The audit was plagued by delays and setbacks, amid political disputes and a lack of compliance by the central bank, which cited banking secrecy.
Speaker Nabih Berri reportedly was against conducting the forensic audit and since the ministry of finance is headed by an Amal minister , Berri was able to prevent A&M from conducting its audit
A&M quit a month after the initial agreement, and in September 2021, was commissioned again by caretaker finance minister Youssef Khalil.
The company was supposed to hand over a preliminary report in September 2022, but it has yet to appear.
The forensic audit was “supposed to scrutinise the financial transactions with regard to the law, to shed light on how and why depositors’ funds were lost”, said Sibylle Rizk, director of public policies at advocacy group Kulluna Irada.
“The question is will the Minister of Finance finally make the report public ? Sami Haddad , another Lebanese analyst told Ya Libnan
He added : “I am 100 % sure Berri will never allow minister Youssef Khalil to make the report public and the whole world knows exactly why ”
Aoun explains why
Former President Michel Aoun considered that “the failure to publish the initial report issued by the criminal audit company Alvarez & Marsal international indicates that this report condemns whoever received it or condemns a party he wants to protect,” explaining that “the criminal audit was approved in the government unanimously, but the next day the Minister of Finance returned said that the political party to which he belongs did not agree to conduct the audit
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