Diab warns Lebanon central bank against obstructing audit

Diab warns Lebanon central bank against obstructing audit

BEIRUT– Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab called on the country's central bank to provide restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal with all the information requested for a forensic audit, warning against any attempt to scupper the process.

Lebanon is grappling with a financial meltdown that has crashed the currency, paralysed banks and prompted a sovereign default. It hired the turnaround specialist this year to audit the central bank – a key demand of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and foreign donors which have pressed the indebted state to tackle waste and corruption.

Diab said in a statement on Tuesday that the Banque du Liban (BDL) had provided the firm with only 42% of the documents requested and criticised it for citing Lebanese legislation and banking secrecy as a justification.

“Any reform not based on