People wearing masks walk near the main gate entrance of the American University of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon.
Manila - Dispute over Diab's exit package from the financially struggling AUB, which has been hit hard by Lebanon's economic meltdown
Published: Fri 10 Jul 2020, 1:41 PM
Updated: Tue 25 Aug 2020, 3:59 PM
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab is suing the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he worked for 35 years as an academic, a spokesman for Diab said, in a dispute over his exit package from the financially struggling institution.AUB, which has been hit hard by Lebanon's economic meltdown, declined to comment on the case.
Lebanon is grappling with a crisis caused by decades of state corruption and bad governance. A hard currency liquidity crunch has led to an 80% weakening of the local currency since October.
Diab presented his-long planned resignation in January - the month he became prime minister."... He asked for an exit package in line with common practices and precedents at AUB. This request was denied ...," the spokesman said.
Diab had "never made any special request for any payments to be made either in foreign currency or into foreign bank accounts. All AUB professors have their pensions paid in US dollars, from a AUB foreign account", the spokesman said."What the PM expressed was only what was already stated in the AUB retirement plan regulations and policies."