PM Mikati: It is dangerous to combine capital control and deposits guarantee

At the beginning of the Cabinet session, Prime Minister Najib Mikati described combining  Capital Control and the deposit guarantee as “dangerous.”

 

He pointed out that the Capital Control should have been approved since day one of the financial crisis, and if we were to present a recovery plan, this measure is supposed to be taken to keep the money inside Lebanon.
 
He explained that the approval of the recovery plan did not take place in Parliament, which was clear and obvious from our side knowing that ministers’ reviews are not received yet, bearing in mind that the plan was sent to the Parliament for comments. 

Mikati noted that “the approval of the budget, capital control, banking secrecy, and restructuring banks are one of the requirements of the IMF.”

“It is not possible to put matters on the path of recovery without approving these laws with full transparency," he explained.
 
As for the upcoming elections, the Prime Minister assured that all the preparations are on the right path, adding that Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib is following up on some of the observations made in the expatriate polls.

He also voiced hopes that Minister of Interior Bassam al-Mawlawi would follow up with the Supervisory Authority to investigate violations.