BEIRUT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun called on Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh Wednesday to hand over the results of the investigation into the dramatic fall of the pound to a public prosecutor.

Aoun said in a statement that he followed with great interest the protest movements in some regions since Tuesday evening against the increase of the Lebanese pound rate against the US dollar to LL10,000.

After meeting with Salameh early Wednesday in Baabda Palace, Aoun demanded to know the reasons th atled to the rise of the US dollar rate to this level, especially over the past few days, and now to inform the Lebanese, in order to ensure transparency, of the results of the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Commission.

The Central Bank governor must refer the results of the investigation to public prosecution so that those involved may be prosecuted in the event that it is proven that there are illegal speculation operations on the national currency by individuals, institutions or banks, Aoun added.

Many members of Lebanons ruling class including Salameh have been accused of transferring exorbitant amounts of money to offshore bank accounts, much of which activists say belonged to the Lebanese people. Aoun addressed this in his statement, saying: The main concern remains recovering depositors funds and the right of citizens which cannot be [violated], neither through illegal speculation nor through suspicious transfers.

In this context, Aoun considered that these practices led to the loss of a large portion of deposits, which caused financial and social distress, with which citizens cries rose. Therefore, citizens went to the streets and this is a legitimate matter, because a person cannot remain silent and it isnt permissible for a citizen to watch his money be looted without reaction.

The Lebanese pound, which has been in free-fall since October 2019, was previously pegged to the dollar at a rate of LL1,515, but has been in steady decline throughout the last 18 months. It has now lost over 85 percent of its original value, with more than 60 percent of the population now living below the poverty line.

The currency fall has also rendered the bank accounts of residents meaningless, as most cannot access their funds, and if they are able to, their savings have severely diminished.

Protesters on the streets Tuesday and Wednesday emphasized that they were demonstrating out of desperation and anger, seeing no other way to combat the situation. In response, Aoun stressed that the right to demonstrate is sacred, and among the duties of security apparatuses is to protect demonstrators [as well as] public and private property, in addition to guaranteeing the right of movement for citizens, which are rights enshrined in the Constitution."

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