A New-York-based company contracted by the Lebanese government to conduct a forensic audit of the country's central bank has decided to pull out of the deal because it was not able to acquire requested information and documents, Lebanon's caretaker finance minister said Friday.
The announcement by Alvarez & Marsal deals a major blow to those hoping for accountability in a country mired in corruption and a crippling economic and financial crisis. It comes after Lebanon's central bank refused to provide the company with the needed documents, using the country's decades-old banking secrecy laws as a pretext.
Caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni told The Associated Press that Alvarez & Marsal, which was contracted in July, says the information it received so far isn't enough and that it doesn't expect to get more.
The country's current economic and financial crisis, the worst in its modern history, is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement.
The outgoing government had been calling for a forensic audit into the central bank's accounts since March, after the country defaulted on paying back its massive debt for the first time earlier this year.
President Michel Aoun has been a strong supporter of a forensic audit but other politicians were strongly opposed to such a move, which could reveal parties that have been benefiting from corruption.
Nasser Saidi, a former vice governor at the central bank, said the decision likely came down to considerations over A&M’s image.
“Incredibly, this company cares more about its own reputation than Lebanon cares about its reputation,” Saidi told Al Jazeera. “They are professionals, they wanted to do a professional job, they were prevented from doing so and now we’re back to square one.”
Lebanon hired Alvarez and Marsal because of an outcry after they first hired Kroll, which has offices in Israel - as do virtually all major accounting firms.
Which means that there are very few professional forensic accounting firms available to do what Lebanon needs to climb out of its crisis, even if they open up the books of their central bank.
No country will provide aid to Lebanon without this forensic accounting - unless it is a country that intends to take over Lebanon altogether.
Like Iran, which expects a financial windfall in the coming months.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.
Sabine Sterk: Imagine… A World Without Hate
-
[image: Sabine Sterk: Imagine… A World Without Hate] Sabine Sterk: Imagine…
A World Without Hate IsraelSeen.com
Sabine Sterk: Imagine… A World Without Hate...
What Anti-Zionism Really Is
-
At The Free Press, Adam Louis-Klein writes: After three months in a remote
Amazonian village with no internet or phone signal, I returned to...
The post ...
What Anti-Zionism Really Is
-
At The Free Press, Adam Louis-Klein writes: After three months in a remote
Amazonian village with no internet or phone signal, I returned to...
The post ...
Happy Sukkot and Happy Hostage Deal
-
Dry Bones Golden Oldies by Sali, the LSW. Wishing everyone a Happy Sukkot!
We are super joyful that it looks like a deal has been struck to send the
hos...
Two Tunisian-Jewish victims of 7 October
-
The Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 affected Israelis of all types, classes
and ethnic groups. Attending a commemoration, Victor Hayoun reflects on
the ...
The Spiritual War of Oct 7
-
It’s all a lie.
The Oct 7 massacres were not carried out to create a ‘Palestinian’ state,
to break out of an ‘open air prison’ in Gaza or any of the lie...
Arabs Doing Arab Propaganda
-
I found this timeline here and selected on minor section to highlight how
Arab propaganda works.
Item 1:
Jewish existed in Europe, and in every single l...
Now What?
-
Today, Jews cannot walk down the street in North America, Europe, or even
Australia without the possibility of being spat on, beaten, or even
murdered. Cou...
Closing Jews Down Under Website
-
With a heavyish heart I am closing down the website after ten years.
It is and it isn’t an easy decision after 10 years of constant work. The
past...
‘Test & Trace’ is a mirage
-
Lockdown II thoughts: Day 1 Opposition politicians have been banging on
about the need for a ‘working’ Test & Trace system even more loudly than
the govern...