Adwan Threatens Salameh and Govt. with Lawsuits over Obligatory Reserve

MP Georges Adwan of the Lebanese Forces on Tuesday warned Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and the caretaker government against using the central bank’s obligatory reserve to finance ration cards for citizens who will be affected by the looming lifting of subsidies.

“The caretaker PM and every minister who maintained the previous subsidization scheme as well as every trader who benefited from the money of depositors and every border official who did not perform his duty must be held accountable before the people,” Adwan said in a statement from parliament.

“The obligatory reserve is not freebie money; it rather belongs to depositors who put their money in banks and these banks are obliged to deposit 15% of this money at the Banque di Liban. Therefore you cannot use it, and should you do there will be legal prosecution against the central bank governor, the prime minister and the finance minister,” Adwan warned.

Calling on depositors to “rise against this issue,” the lawmaker vowed that the Lebanese Forces will stand by them and noted that it is “studying all the legal measures that should be taken.”