Deputy Halima Al-Qa'qour stated in a statement that the crime of the $16.5 billion debt is a debt invented by the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, against the state, in a financial operation that violates the law on money and credit and all global accounting practices. In her participation in a signed question by a number of deputies regarding the new debt, Al-Qa'qour considered that "Salameh's crime is the responsibility of the parties in the system complicit with him within the government, and it exposes those who applaud him outside it."
The signed question by Al-Qa'qour along with deputies Ibrahim Mneimneh, Firas Hamdan, Cynthia Zarazir, Paula Yacoubian, Yassine Yassine, Melhem Khalaf, Najat Saliba, and Elias Jerada included the following: "The central bank issued on 17/2/2023 an amendment to its monthly budget which noted an increase of approximately $16,500,000,000 (sixteen billion and five hundred million US dollars) recorded as a debt owed by the Lebanese state in hard currency to the central bank, which turned out to be an accounting for the value of dollars that the central bank sold to the state since 2007 and recorded as a debt owed to it. In light of the turmoil at the central bank since the beginning of the crisis and the lack of transparency in providing accurate and reliable figures, after reviewing several studies regarding these alleged funds, it was found that the Ministry of Finance issued between 2009 and 2019 Eurobond securities worth $17,500,000,000 (seventeen billion and five hundred million US dollars), which were exchanged for Lebanese treasury bonds that the state did not need to cover general expenses.
The central bank sold these bonds to banks and investors to obtain liquidity that enabled it to pay the owed interests to banks on the deposits held with it, thus the operation was merely a consolidation of profits and coverage of any losses related to interest payments. Additionally, the state did not use these funds; rather, the Central Bank of Lebanon covered its accumulated losses resulting from paying high-interest rates to banks, offloading the burden onto the state and recording it as debts. Such practices could negatively impact the state's finances and exacerbate its deficit, even though the mentioned funds are not actually debts owed by the state but a new invention by the governor and the central bank. The recording of such debts is a legal violation that entails administrative, disciplinary, or penal repercussions for the governor.
Based on the above, we direct the following questions to the government: Was the Ministry of Finance aware of these amounts? Did the Ministry of Finance verify the figures reported by the central bank? Has it previously tracked these funds? Did the Ministry of Finance confirm the purpose of using these amounts? Has the Ministry questioned the central bank represented by the governor regarding the reason for classifying these amounts under the debts owed by the state? What actions has the Ministry of Finance taken concerning the attempts of the Central Bank of Lebanon to cover its losses and those of the banks with state funds under the engineering of the central bank governor? What actions will the government take to hold the Minister of Finance accountable for the transgressions of the central bank governor and for failing to follow up on such matters that may impose heavy losses on the state and absolve the central bank and the banks of any responsibility? We hope for a written response to the mentioned questions within a maximum period of 15 days, in accordance with the internal regulations of the Parliament."
