Lebanon’s incoming government restarts central bank audit

By SARAH EL DEEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s incoming finance minister has signed a contract with a New York-based company to conduct a forensic audit of the country’s central bank. That’s a key demand of the international community to restore confidence in the crisis-struck Mideast country. Alvarez & Marsal had pulled out of an earlier agreement late last year, complaining that the company was unable to acquire the information it needed for the audit. The withdrawal was a blow to calls for accountability in Lebanon, mired in decades of corruption. The new government named this month made the forensic audit a top priority and Lebanese finance minister signed it on Friday.