Economist Patrick Mardini said, “It is not the task of the Central Bank to secure the dollar for imports,” considering that “this practice is a heresy devised by successive governments to seize the depositors’ money.”
In an interview with “Lebanon 24”, Mardini pointed out that “the merchant and the importer must buy dollars from the market to buy the commodity and sell it afterwards, and asked: “Who said that importers have the right to take depositors’ money?”
However, Mardini pointed out that “the Central Bank does not have the right to provide traders with dollars for importation, because this is considered a drain on hard currency,” considering that “stopping the provision of funds to importers is a correct and appropriate step.”