<p>Lebanon's parliament Monday approved a bill that suspends banking secrecy laws for one year to allow for a forensic audit of the central bank, a key demand of international donors, state media said.</p>.<p>"Parliament approved a draft law... that suspends banking secrecy for one year," the official National News Agency reported.</p>.<p>The vote came in inaccordance with a November decision by parliament to clear hurdles obstructing a forensic audit of the central bank and public institutions, the NNA added.</p>.<p>The International Monetary Fund and France are among creditors demanding the audit as part of urgent reforms to unlock financial support, as the country faces a grinding economic crisis.</p>.<p>But the central bank has claimed that provisions including Lebanon's Banking Secrecy Law prevent it from releasing some of the necessary information.</p>.<p>"After approving a law that lifts banking secrecy... we can begin a forensic audit," said Hasan Fadlallah, a lawmaker affiliated with the powerful Shiite Hezbollah movement.</p>.<p>But lawyer and activist Nizar Saghieh argued that Monday's decision would only be "window dressing" in the absence of a clear intention from government to carry out the audit.</p>.<p>"Implementation is a whole sperate matter," he told AFP.</p>.<p>New York-based Alvarez and Marsal, a consultancy firm formerly tasked with the audit, scrapped its agreement with the government in November because the central bank had failed to hand over required data.</p>.<p>The move sparked widespread criticism of Lebanon's authorities.</p>.<p>The country, which defaulted on its debt this year, is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades and is still reeling from a devastating explosion at Beirut's port that gutted entire neighbourhoods of the capital on August 4.</p>.<p>The dire economic straits and the explosion have both been widely blamed on government corruption and incompetence.</p>
<p>Lebanon's parliament Monday approved a bill that suspends banking secrecy laws for one year to allow for a forensic audit of the central bank, a key demand of international donors, state media said.</p>.<p>"Parliament approved a draft law... that suspends banking secrecy for one year," the official National News Agency reported.</p>.<p>The vote came in inaccordance with a November decision by parliament to clear hurdles obstructing a forensic audit of the central bank and public institutions, the NNA added.</p>.<p>The International Monetary Fund and France are among creditors demanding the audit as part of urgent reforms to unlock financial support, as the country faces a grinding economic crisis.</p>.<p>But the central bank has claimed that provisions including Lebanon's Banking Secrecy Law prevent it from releasing some of the necessary information.</p>.<p>"After approving a law that lifts banking secrecy... we can begin a forensic audit," said Hasan Fadlallah, a lawmaker affiliated with the powerful Shiite Hezbollah movement.</p>.<p>But lawyer and activist Nizar Saghieh argued that Monday's decision would only be "window dressing" in the absence of a clear intention from government to carry out the audit.</p>.<p>"Implementation is a whole sperate matter," he told AFP.</p>.<p>New York-based Alvarez and Marsal, a consultancy firm formerly tasked with the audit, scrapped its agreement with the government in November because the central bank had failed to hand over required data.</p>.<p>The move sparked widespread criticism of Lebanon's authorities.</p>.<p>The country, which defaulted on its debt this year, is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades and is still reeling from a devastating explosion at Beirut's port that gutted entire neighbourhoods of the capital on August 4.</p>.<p>The dire economic straits and the explosion have both been widely blamed on government corruption and incompetence.</p>