In a recent announcement, the Central Bank of Lebanon confirmed that its gold reserves are consistent with the quantities recorded in the data of the Ministry of Finance and official figures. This revelation comes after a global audit of the bank’s gold stock was conducted.
This audit report was instigated after the acting governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Waseem Mansouri, liaised with the global auditing company, “ALS Inspection UK Ltd”, which had been commissioned by “KPMG” in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
According to the bank’s statement, on Thursday, they received permission to release a summary of the gold stock audit report. This report reaffirmed that the bank’s vault contents are in alignment with the quantities detailed in the data of the Ministry of Finance. Remarkably, the audit process involved scrutinizing more than 13,000 gold bars and 600,000 gold coins.
The central bank introduced the auditing firm, “ALS Inspection UK Ltd”, as a subsidiary of the Australian company “ALS Limited”, listed on the Australian stock exchange with its headquarters in the UK. “ALS Inspection UK Ltd” provides global, accurate, independent analytical and inspection services encompassing metals, ores, precious metals, ferroalloys, and solid fuels.
In 2022, KPMG, in partnership with the IMF, collaborated with “ALS Inspection UK Ltd” to obtain the necessary expertise and assistance in verifying the availability and quality of gold assets in the vault of the Central Bank of Lebanon.
David Bounal, Global Director of Precious Metals at “ALS Inspection UK Ltd”, stated their objective was to independently inspect and verify the Central Bank of Lebanon’s vast stock of gold bars and coins and digitally document them. He added, “We aimed to create a transparent digital catalog of the gold stock that can be easily and effectively audited in the coming years.”
Per the company’s report, each individual gold bar was weighed, examined using non-destructive analytical equipment, and transported by “ALS” staff to a newly constructed space within the Central Bank of Lebanon’s designated vault area. Similarly, the bank’s large stock of gold coins underwent the same process, as confirmed by the source.
