The publication of the forensic audit report regarding the Central Bank of Lebanon accounts, prepared by Alvarez & Marsal, has sparked angry and condemning reactions due to the extent of violations and wasted funds from depositors' accounts, as well as concealing facts from the public.
This article was originally published in and translated from the online Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa.
This positions it to potentially become a "snowball," growing day by day. Meanwhile, MP Jamil al Sayyed revealed that what has been published is an initial report, with more significant ones to follow.
Ironically, the report remains confidential within the Finance Minister's "drawers."
The report indicated that dozens of associations benefited from the former governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh's "grants" with substantial amounts.
Politicians, senior judges, officers, employees, security agency chiefs, religious figures, banks, business people, relatives, acquaintances, news stations, and media professionals also benefited from these funds with substantial sums.
According to Al-Anbaa, information suggests that forthcoming European investigations will include lists of names, dates, embezzled amounts, and high-ranking individuals involved with Salameh, including bank presidents and others.
The bank, which profited over 7.2 billion dollars in 2015, lost multiples of this amount in 2020.
Some MPs believe that the parliament bears responsibility for not holding the former governor accountable, as he disregarded the council and abstained from attending its sessions.
He acted independently and squandered significant amounts under the guise of travel and accommodation expenses.
MP Ghassan Hasbani stated that the report confirmed suspicions and emphasized the need to tighten control over the bank. It revealed inflated figures, concealed accounts, and collusion between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Lebanon to finance the state, posing a danger.
Head of the Finance and Budget Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, stated: The forensic audit report, after the collapse, which was approved by amending the law of the Committee to remain effective until the audit is complete, "validated what we had been working on and documenting in the Fact-Finding Committee and the Finance and Budget Committee since 2010, nine years before the collapse and 13 years before the forensic audit."
It attested to the inaccuracy of the state's accounts and its public finances, with all its components and facilities. This fact is now acknowledged by everyone, despite some attempts to obscure and distort it for known interests and agendas.
He added: "We will continue the institutional oversight process of this file, related to the rights of the state and the Lebanese, including depositors. The Finance Committee will hold a session soon."
It is also the responsibility of the judiciary to carry out its duties and enforce accountability, ensuring the restoration of the deprived depositors' rights rather than considering them as "losses," Kanaan said.
These are obligations of the state, the Central Bank of Lebanon, and the banks.
Concluding that the game of shifting responsibility between governments and the Central Bank of Lebanon, which have evaded comprehensive surveys of the assets of banks and the Central Bank and the state for four years, as well as the absence of the trust fund from the government's plans to confiscate the rights of the Lebanese people, is exposed.