UNSMIL said the United Nations Office for Project Service (UNOPS), at the request of UNSMIL, reopened the bidding process for a financial audit review of the two branches of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) in Tripoli and the parallel one in Al-Bayda.

"The tendering process will remain open for three weeks after which the UN will select the best offer based on international standards after having consulted the two CBL branches." UNSMIL said.

UNSMIL said it remains committed to facilitating a financial audit review of the two branches of the CBL as requested last year by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj.

It added that this review aims at restoring confidence, promoting transparency, and supporting the reunification of Libya’s financial and economic institutions, which are crucial to Libya’s stability and prosperity.

"The current tender is being issued openly after the closed bidding process, which was launched in early 2019 and ended in April, did not produce a contract with one of the Big Four auditing firms." UNSMIL reported.

It added that Ghassan Salamé convened the governors of the two branches on two separate occasions in 2018 in order to agree the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the financial audit review.