Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister and head of the largest bloc in parliament, Gebran Bassil, called on Tuesday for a probe into capital flight amid a cash crunch
BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th January, 2020) Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister and head of the largest bloc in parliament, Gebran Bassil, called on Tuesday for a probe into capital flight amid a cash crunch.
"At a time when people stand long lines to withdraw some cash and are banned from transferring even modest sums overseas, others send money over in dozens or even hundreds of thousands of millions of dollars," Gebran Bassil told reporters.
He said the Strong Lebanon bloc had demanded the central bank to explain large transfers that happened in 2019 after it imposed capital controls on the country to stop cash reserves from drying up.
People took to the streets in Beirut after a brief lull to protest a political vacuum, which followed the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri last fall. The president nominated a new prime minister who has been struggling to form a cabinet.
Protests flared across Lebanon in October amid a crippling economic crisis. They have been demanding urgent reforms to end the deepening liquidity crisis, while President Michel Aoun has blamed it on sanctions.
