Aoun: Lebanon Looking Forward to Outcome of Forensic Audit

President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday the Lebanese are "looking forward" to the results of a forensic audit into the financial accounts of the Central Bank to know how billions of dollars were wasted.

Aoun said the audit “represents one of the basic reforms to help Lebanon steer out of its economic crisis.”

The President's remarks came during a meeting at Baabda Palace with a delegation from Alvarez & Marsal which will undertake the forensic financial audit into the Central Bank accounts.

The meeting was held in the presence of caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, former Minister Salim Jreisati, Director General of the Lebanese Presidency, Antoine Choucair, and the President’s Economic and Financial Adviser, Charbel Qordahi.

Alvarez&Marsal delegation included General Manager James Daniel, Administrative Director Asild Janusz Ozeib, and Yehya Naseer.

Aoun said the audit must reach "conclusive, accurate and clear results supported by documents and evidence."

He also recalled the obligation to adhere to confidentiality during the audit.

For his part, Daniel explained the delegation’s vision about the task assigned to his team and the difficulties they might encounter during their work. He stressed that the team of auditors adhered to the given deadline after obtaining the required information from the Central Bank.

Daniel thanked the Lebanese state for the trust given to their company hoping that the work team would receive all the required cooperation to accomplish the mission.