Lebanon's corruption bill 'unlikely' to recover lost funds, says expert

New legislation passed by Lebanon's Parliament on Monday to recover embezzled funds is unlikely to lead to new corruption investigations in the near future, a legal expert told The National.

The law was a key demand of the growing number of Lebanese who have taken to the streets in recent months to protest against decades of corruption and mismanagement that have plunged the country into one of its worst economic and financial crises.

In 2020, Lebanon ranked 149th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption perception index.

Parliament speaker Nabih Berri told Monday's session that Lebanon was like the Titanic, warning that "the whole country is in danger" if it could not form a government.

“If the ship sinks, there’ll be no one left,” Mr Berri told lawmakers.

Lebanon's economic crisis has denied depositors access to the bulk of their bank savings and seen the country's currency fall by more than 85 per cent against the dollar.

The newly endorsed law, however, will not bring any immediate solution to the country's economic woes.

Its enforcement would require the formation of a national anti-corruption commission and the establishment of a special fund to channel any retrieved money, Antoine Sfeir, a law professor, told The National.

“Like previous legislation aimed at fighting corruption, the success of this endeavour lies with the implementation of the law,” Mr Sfeir said.

Lebanon has yet to form an national anti-corruption commission, which would have the authority to investigate and refer corruption cases for prosecution.

Its formation and the establishment of a special fund to retrieve embezzled money would require the approval of the government, Dr Sfeir said.

The country has been without a fully functioning Cabinet since the public anger following the massive Beirut port explosion that killed over 200 people last August toppled Hassan Diab's government.

Political leaders have failed to agree on the composition of a new Cabinet, amid rising tensions between President Michel Aoun, a staunch ally of the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, and his political rival, prime minister-designate Saad Hariri.

This impasse has stymied the implementation of anti-corruption reforms in exchange for international financial support.

Mr Sfeir says under the country's constitution the caretaker government led by Mr Diab could meet exceptionally  to enact such reforms, if the political will exists.

“There won’t be any real change unless the prevailing mentality changes,” Mr Sfeir said.