For more than a decade, Lebanon's central bank charged commercial banks in the country commissions when they bought government securities without making clear that the bulk of those commissions went to a company controlled by the brother of the central bank's governor, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Four contracts between Banque du Liban (BDL) and a Lebanese commercial bank seen by Reuters, dated from 2004 to 2014, state that the bank entering into the contract agreed to pay 3/8 of 1% commission on purchases of government certificates of deposit worth millions of dollars. Such contracts were standard for commercial banks making such purchases at the time, two senior executives in the finance industry told Reuters.
