Important information about Lebanon’s gold .. Is selling it the solution?

The “Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed” website published a new report entitled “Warnings of the Risks of Selling Gold Reserves in Lebanon”, and stated:

With the continuation of the financial crisis in Lebanon since 2019, the issue of depositors is still one of the most thorny files that did not find its way to the solution, amid the collapse of confidence in the banking system and the absence of clear policies to restore deposits.

In this context, multiple proposals have emerged to address the huge losses incurred by the financial sector, including the idea of ​​selling the gold reserves owned by the Lebanese state, which is estimated at about $ 25 billion, a means of filling the deficit and compensating the depositors.

The gold reserves in Lebanon are estimated at 286.8 tons, which makes it second in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia. However, this proposition raises great concerns, as gold is seen as the last of the remaining sovereign assets of the state, as well as being the last guarantee of the stability of the national currency in light of crises.

While some warn of the serious repercussions that may result from prejudice to this wealth, some sounds tend to search for more sustainable alternatives, such as the restoration of smuggled money after the crisis, and obliging banks to bear part of the losses instead of downloading the state and depositors.

The National General Coordinator of the Lebanese Alliance for Rational Governance, Maroun El -Khouly, said in a special interview with “Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed” that the solution to the crisis of depositors is not in selling gold, but rather in restoring the money referred abroad after the crisis, and imposing radical reforms on banks to ensure the restructuring of the sector. He pointed to the need to compensate the depositors through the assets of banks and property that benefited from the illegal benefits.

Al -Khouli added that the banks bear the major responsibility as a result of their financial policies based on fictional benefits and mismanagement of deposits, and they must bear part of the losses instead of holding them to the Lebanese state and people and depositors.

On the impact of selling gold on confidence in the Lebanese lira and the economy in general, he stressed that this will lead to the loss of confidence in the national currency, which exacerbates inflation and cash collapse, and encourages a new wave of money escaping, as the financial market will lose any guarantees for stability.

He explained that “gold reserves represents a national wealth, and it is characterized by its retention of its material value, as it constitutes a variety of cash reserves and provides protection during inflation periods, which is the true supporter of the national currency and an additional guarantee that enhances confidence in the economy.”

Likewise, he stressed that the political majority refuses to sell gold, but some banking and political parties are trying to pass the offering indirectly, warning of the exploitation of the financial crisis to justify the prejudice of this national wealth.

He called for the issuance of laws prohibiting the sale of gold in the future, with the possibility of mortgaging or leasing it in specific cases, stressing that civil society and popular forces must play a role in protecting this reserve.

In turn, a member of the Independent Labor Group for Lebanon, the financial expert and the deputy Karim Daher, stated in an interview with “Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed” that the topic today is broader and deeper than gold reserves.

Daher stressed that the productive economy cannot be based on selling gold reserves, because it is a passing wealth for generations, and the state does not have the right to exploit the capital, which is supposed to be in support of the future. Gold is a legacy of previous generations, and it must be invested and developed to support and improve the status quo.

Daher stressed the necessity of recovering the money that some have benefited from from 2019 until today, in order to achieve justice, especially since the losses amounted to 31 billion dollars as a result of loans that were rearranged at a value of less than their actual value, in addition to more than 20 billion dollars, which were exposed to deposits through the “Source platform And support.

Statistics indicate that there are 1,235,000 deposit accounting accounts in banks, while these deposits depend on more than two million citizens, or more than a third of the population of Lebanon, while the attempts of the Naguib Mikati government hovering over the approval of laws and decrees aimed at deleting about 90% of the depositors ’money . (The New Arab)