Lebanon: Court of Accounts Report on "Loss of Stamps"

Minister of Finance in the caretaker government, Youssef Khalil, received from the President of the Court of Accounts, Judge Muhammad Badran, the Court of Accounts report regarding the crisis of lost financial stamps in Lebanon. The report, consisting of 69 pages, includes three sections. The first section addressed the legal organization of the financial stamp service in Lebanon concerning authorities and responsibilities, as well as the legal repercussions of violating the texts governing the financial stamp service. The second section discussed the Court's oversight role on the financial stamp service, its monitoring of contract dealings, and its follow-up on the crisis of lost financial stamps. The third section highlighted the violations and their results, concluding with recommendations. Khalil announced that "the Ministry of Finance highly appreciates the work of the Court of Accounts and will deal with the report issued by it seriously and in accordance with the required procedures and applicable laws," noting that "the report comes amid the ministry's efforts to put an end to the phenomenon of the black market," emphasizing that "cooperation is at its highest level with everyone who contributes to cutting off the paths of black market traders seeking to exploit people's needs, especially since the ministry is not a judicial authority to suppress those violations and pursue the offenders and impose penalties on them."