The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) denied in a statement Tuesday giving letters of credit to selected businesspersons, describing the social media rumors as untrue and baseless.

The CBL added that the meeting attended by the Presidential Council, CBL and some businesspersons was meant to discuss the 2017 experience regarding implementing the country’s importation budget.

“The meeting also reviewed solutions to the cash outage, lack of basic goods and their rocketing prices in the market. We heard what the businesspersons had to say about those issues.” The statement reads.

Meanwhile, the Libyan Audit Bureau objected in a letter sent to the Presidential Council and the Central Bank as well as the Ministry of Economy to the interference of certain businesspersons and others in deciding the importation budget of 2018 in a way that benefits them.

“There is nepotism, and there are some stakeholders who are dominating the committee tasked with devising the importation budget. There are some authorities that are hindering the provision of the needed basic goods to people leading to the fact that some businesspersons have monopolized such goods for their own benefit.” The Head of the Audit Bureau said in the letter on Monday.

He threatened to suspend giving any more letters of credit if there are no immediate measures by the concerned authorities to end the suffering of ordinary Libyans caused by the avarice of the few.