The Bank of Lebanon, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, successfully completed, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Law, the decision on a tender for awarding a project: "Forensic audit of selected transactions involving BdL's foreign assets during the period between October 1st, 2019 and December 31st, 2023" After evaluating the offers from the administrative, technical and financial aspects, the contract was awarded to Alvarez & Marsal. The bank explained that this path comes within the framework of a joint institutional effort aimed at conducting a comprehensive financial forensic audit for the period extending between October 2019 and the end of 2023. He said: “This is the period that witnessed large-scale financial interventions by the Bank of Lebanon for the benefit of entities from the public and private sectors.” The scope of the audit will include, in particular: 1. The support program approved by successive governments at the time, which included transfers and payments amounting to several billion US dollars. 2. Funds placed by the Bank of Lebanon at the disposal of public institutions and governmental bodies. 3. Transfers made by the Bank of Lebanon to commercial banks via international transfers to their accounts abroad. This forensic audit also aims primarily to verify the following: 1. All payments and transfers, especially those related to support programs, have been made pursuant to legal authorizations and authorizations and in accordance with approved principles. He pointed out that the funds had reached the clearly designated and authorized beneficiaries. He also pointed out that the funds were used for their specified purpose, without any violation, misuse or exploitation of public funds. He explained that this obligation will contribute to supporting the competent authorities at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice in identifying and prosecuting cases in which some entities or individuals have obtained support funds illegally, or cases in which the funds were used contrary to the stated objectives of the support programs. This audit would allow the Bank of Lebanon to form an accurate, independent and audited picture of the amount of money spent during the period mentioned above.