Firm quits Lebanon bank forensic audit

BEIRUT — A New-York-based company contracted by the Lebanese government to conduct a forensic audit of the country’s central bank has decided to pull out of the deal because it was not able to acquire requested information, Lebanon’s outgoing finance minister said Friday.

The announcement by Alvarez & Marsal deals a major blow to those hoping for accountability in a country mired in corruption and a crippling economic crisis. It comes after Lebanon’s central bank refused to provide the company with the needed documents, using the country’s decadesold banking secrecy laws as a pretext.