AMMAN – HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, founder and chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global), has digitally participated in the panel session organized by Al Madina Forum in Beirut entitled: “Governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank Mandate: Governor’s or Governance Crisis”.The panel was attended by a host of specialists and people badly affected by the incorrect decisions taken by the government and the Central Bank Governor. 

The session has hosted Mr. Roy Badaro, an economist expert in drafting general policies, and Mr. Tawfiq Shambour, researcher and lecturer on financial laws and currency to talk about the future of the Central Bank’s governance after the expiration of the mandate of Governor Riad Salameh.

During the session, Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh raised a number of inquiries in his statement, mainly the mechanism of appointing the Central Bank governor, who  he is responsible for, how he is held accountable, how he could be dismissed, as well as his legal reference, noting that answers to such questions are shrouded in ambiguity.

Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh further affirmed the need to develop a legal study that clarifies the relation with the governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank, mechanisms of his appointment, accountability to all ‘crimes’ committed against Lebanon, its economy and people, pointing out that the banking secrecy law is still valid in Lebanon, which makes it the only country to maintain such secrecy.

 Mr. Marwan Al Nabulsi, member of the Forum’s coordination committee, expressed gratitude for the participation of Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh in the seminar in his capacity as one of the depositors who have been badly affected by the freezing of funds in the Lebanese banks, and in his capacity as one of the key defenders of the depositors’ rights to gain access to their frozen assets.

It is worth mentioning that Dr. Abu-Ghazaleh has previously announced his intention to form a voluntary council that will be tasked with the mission of recovering depositors’ money from the Lebanese banks regardless of the value of their deposits, launching a website for this council, to file a Class Action lawsuit at all relevant authorities, describing what has happened in Lebanon as a crime against humanity.

During the session, speakers talked about the implications of the monetary and banking policies set up by the governor of Lebanon’s central bank since the 1990s on the economy, society, and the financial and living conditions, and how the loopholes cemented the way for the current collapse.

The Madina Forum is a political, social and consultative forum that aims at creating an open space for discussions among the people of the city who are interested in the public affairs in Beirut and Lebanon in general.