أعلن ​مصرف لبنان​، في بيان، أنّ "بناءً على تواصل حاكم مصرف لبنان بالإنابة مع شركة التدقيق العالمية "ALS Inspection UK Ltd" الّتي تم تكليفها من قبل شركة "KPMG" بالتعاون مع ​صندوق النقد الدولي​، حصل مصرف لبنان بتاريخ 24 آب 2023، على الموافقة بنشر خلاصة تقرير التدقيق بمخزون ​الذهب​ لديه".

وأوضح "أنّه ينشر الخلاصة المذكورة مع ترجمتها إلى اللّغة العربيّة، الّتي تؤكّد أنّ مخزون الذهب الموجود في خزائن ​المصرف المركزي​ هو مطابق للكميّات الموثّقة في بيانات الماليّة".

Bank du Liban Vault Audit

In 2022 ALS Inspection UK Ltd was approached by KPMG, in association with the International Monetary Fund, to provide expertise and assistance to verify the existence and quality of monetary gold holdings stored in the Banque du Liban's (BDL) vault.

ALS Inspection UK Ltd is a UK based subsidiary of the Australian publicly listed ALS Limited (ASX: ALO) that provides accurate and independent global inspection & analysis services for metals, minerals, ores, precious metals, ferro alloys and solid fuels. With regards to precious metal vault audits, their expertise, which extends to over 40 years, is regularly utilised by international clients from both financial and governmental sectors. ALS Inspection UK Ltd is also an affiliate member of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) which is the international trade association representing the global Over The Counter (OTC) bullion market. It is widely recognised as the global authority on precious metals.

David Pownall, Global Precious Metals Manager for ALS Inspection UK Ltd advised "Our objective was to independently inspect, verify and digitally record BDL's large inventory of gold holdings, which consisted of both bars and coins. We wanted to create a digital catalogue of their gold inventory that was transparent and could be audited easily and efficiently in years to come."

Each individual gold bar was weighed, tested (using numerous pieces of non-destructive analysis equipment) and relocated by ALS employees to a newly built dedicated location within BDL's vaulting facilities. The same processes were performed for BDL's vast coin inventory.

After physically handling over 13,000 bars and 600,000 coins, ALS Inspection UK Ltd independently confirmed the gold containing troy ounce amounts that BDL had documented and advised as their official gold holdings.

"Although complex and physically strenuous, it was fascinating to physically handle and view the collection of bars and coins that BDL held, many of which are rare and no longer produced by international gold refiners", Mr Pownall added.

ALS Inspection UK Ltd sealed BDL's vault that houses the gold inventory and will return on an annual basis to perform check audits.