2023-07-17 22:07:30
* Updated with details
The Central Bank of Lebanon intends to gradually terminate the work of the “Sarafa” exchange platform following the end of the term of the current Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, which ends on July 31, according to what Salim Shaheen, one of the deputy governors of the Banque du Liban, told Archyde.com on Monday.
Criticism was directed at the platform, which was established in 2021 in the midst of the economic collapse in Lebanon to maintain the stability of the lira, for the lack of transparency regarding it and for providing an opportunity for the black market to flourish in light of the difference between the price of the lira on the platform and in the parallel market, according to the agency.
The unification of the exchange rate is among the economic reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund for Lebanon, which is seeking financing from the fund worth three billion dollars in light of the economic collapse it has been suffering from for more than 3 years.
Shaheen, Deputy Governor of the Banque du Liban, said, in his statements to the agency, that the bank’s leadership was in talks with policymakers in the government and parliament and with the International Monetary Fund regarding the need to move away from a banking platform due to its lack of transparency and governance.
He indicated that the platform will be replaced by another electronic platform for determining exchange rates, which specialized international bodies will work on establishing.
A banking platform was established during the reign of the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, who has held this position for 30 years, and who is facing investigations in Lebanon and European countries, including France and Germany, on suspicions of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering.
The World Bank said, in a report last May, that a banking platform has turned into a mechanism for making profits from arbitrage operations amounting to regarding $2.5 billion since its inception, adding that obtaining the dollar offered on the platform achieves large and risk-free profits due to the presence of a margin between the currency price on the platform. The price of the currency in the parallel market.
(Prepared by: Maryam Abdel-Ghani, to communicate with zawya.arabic@lseg.com)
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