Kataeb’s Head of Public Policy and Legislation Lara Saade stated that the Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil does not have the right to withhold the forensic audit report, deeming it vital in uncovering the roots of the financial crisis.

 “The Lebanese government hired Alvarez and Marsal Company to estimate the exact remainder of the funds and national reserve, along with uncovering any potential embezzlement, poor financial management or any suspicions of corruption,” Saade said in an interview with VDL 24 Radio TV.

She indicated that all the reformatory laws had been delayed due to the absence of real and exact figures. 

She said that not only does Lebanon’s State Council’s decree edicts the Minister of Finance to publish the forensic audit report, but also it is binding under the Right to Information Act and Clause number 5 of the contract between the Lebanese government and Alvarez and Marsal. 

“By withholding the report, the minister is obstructing reforms which is a crime punishable through the Lebanese judiciary or government,” she explained.

 “The Minister of Finance is withholding the forensic audit report under the pretext of its confidentiality, which are false pretences,” she asserted.

“According to the law, hiding such information, along with the contract between the government and the audit firm cannot be done and through the actions too. We call on Minister Khalil to release the forensic audit report and relay it to the Parliament and send us a copy,” she went on saying.

Saade also called on Lebanon’s State Council to make its decision hurriedly.

She noted that the Minister of Finance was being updated on the proceedings of the forensic audit report on a weekly basis, saying that the reasons behind withholding it should be questioned. 

“There are exceptions in the law, regarding national security, but it only concerns the defensive aspect and not the financial one. Lebanon’s State Council deemed releasing the report necessary because it has affected the financial national security,” she affirmed.

“When the Court of Accounts received the Alvarez and Marsal contract, it rejected the confidentiality clause and the concealment of firm’s label in the event of any judiciary actions to prosecute any potential infractions,” she said.

Saade believed that the hiring of an audit firm to undertake a forensic audit report only to conceal its results in void of any logic is a waste of the public funds.

“It seems that they are trying to postpone the discussion regarding the issues stated in the forensic audit report until after the end of the Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh’s term. However, no matter how long they adjourn the release of the report, they will not reach their goal. They are only delaying the reform process and creation of the reformatory laws,” Saade pointed out.

“In case the reforms are not implemented, we will exhaust the remainder of the funds and reserves, which in turn will hinder the depositors’ refunding process,” she affirmed.

“In light of these obstructions, anything is possible, but sooner or later they will have to publish the report because the forensic audit report is one of the top requirements of the International Monetary Fund in order to fulfil actual reform, which why electing a new president and forming a new government that will assume its responsibilities and apply the necessary reforms, is a dire need,” Saade said, adding that the Lebanese people have been drained under the existing approach.

Saade noted that the Kataeb bloc took action in accordance with its responsibility towards the people, and invited everyone to do the same because “all the Lebanese people are interested in the future of the country, reviving the Lebanese economy and having a healthy banking sector.”

"There is no such thing as a final forensic audit report "draft". The contract states that the Lebanese Government paid $2 740 000 to issue an initial report, and gave the Ministry of Finance a two-week-window to forward their questions and other reports that might require new contracts, and whosoever should change the content of the forensic audit report would be prosecuted for fraud," she indicated.

Saade went on saying that it is "unacceptable that the government has started to discuss the 2023 budget without having access to the forensic audit report. This budget must be based on actual figures, which are only featured in the report." 

"The auditing firm was not asked to reveal the names of the infractors, rather the infractions themselves. Once the judiciary learns of any wrongdoings, the names will be identified and prosecuted," she added.

"Not disclosing the results of the forensic audit today contributes to prolonging the reality we live in today in the absence of a real banking sector, which only benefits the ones gaining from the monetary economy, therefore whoever continues to obstruct any change, only wants to keep living in this reality," she concluded.