On June 27th, a team from the New York-based accounting firm, Alvarez and Marsal (A&M), will arrive in Lebanon and begin conducting a forensic audit of the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL), according to two Lebanese official sources to Reuters.
The forensic audit is intended to gain transparency by investigating the Central Bank’s past financial transitions. The audit has been ordered by Lebanon’s donor states before they assist the country with funds to recover the economy.
In September 2020, Lebanon signed a forensic audit agreement with A&M, but the contract was canceled three months later due to BDL refusing to provide A&M with crucial information.
The country’s economic crisis began in 2019 and has resulted in a 90% devaluation of the Lira, increased unemployment and poverty, and hyperinflation.
