A preliminary audit report by Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), dated August 7 and leaked to the press on Friday, points to questionable accounting practices and an exercise of discretion by the former central bank governor. The firm Alvarez & Marsal denounces the questionable accounting practices of Riad Salamé, the former governor of the Bank of Lebanon

The veil is gradually being lifted over the opaque financial management of the Bank of Lebanon (BDL), which for thirty years was owned by Riad Salamé. The BDL and its former governor, once considered to be the pillars of the post-civil war financial system (1975-1990), are now sharply criticized in Lebanon. They are criticized for having contributed to plunging the country into the serious economic and liquidity crisis into which it has been sinking

The A&M audit, commissioned in 2020 by the Lebanese State, aims to trace the institution's transaction history to detect possible fraud over a limited period, between 2015 and 2020. This document of more than 300 pages, consulted by “Les Echos”, highlights the accounting practices of the Bank of Lebanon, in particular the concealment of its losses. A&M also refers to the governor's almost unlimited decision-making power, especially with respect to the expensive and controversial financial engineering operations carried out by the central bank, guaranteeing colossal interest rates to commercial banks in exchange