Deputies unite on accountability, urge Judiciary's role

During a session of the Finance and Budget Committee dedicated to discussing the forensic audit report, deputies attended, but not all of them had reviewed the full report.

The reason is that the report is in English, and the Ministry of Justice does not have the funds to translate it into Arabic. They are waiting for the funding promised by an international organization, as stated by the Minister of Justice, Henri Khoury, during the session.

While the session was intended for the forensic audit, reform efforts were also discussed.

As for the acting governor of Banque du Liban, Wassim Mansouri, the basis lies in passing reform laws, most notably bank restructuring and restoring financial balance, among others.

Furthermore, the acting governor expressed his willingness to meet with deputies day and night, even during holidays, to finalize these laws. He also proposed referring them to joint committees to save time.

Moreover, the head of the finance committee, Ibrahim Kanaan, emphasized that passing these laws requires obtaining figures to determine the financial gap and proceeding with the audit of banks, a commitment the government made in 2019.

Therefore, the Banking Control Commission and the Ministry of Finance will be invited to inquire about the reasons for the delay.
During the session, the judicial aspect dominated the central part of the discussion.

Deputy Simon Abi Ramia asked why the Public Prosecution sent the file to two judicial authorities. The Minister of Justice explained that it's a matter of jurisdiction for each of them.

Despite their differing stances, deputies agreed that the Judiciary is responsible for accountability from now on. Additionally, MP Firas Hamdan stated that the Judiciary cannot fulfill its role unless politics withdraws its influence, while Deputy Jamil Al-Sayed viewed the Judiciary skeptically.

The discussions also implicated the Ministry of Finance and government commissioners in the Central Bank for negligence in overseeing the central bank's work.

However, as some deputies mentioned failings in the Banking Control Commission's work and Deputy Razi Al-Hajj raised the role of the Special Investigation Authority, BDL’s Mansouri did not take a defensive stance.