I met with Camille Abousleiman who was mentioned in the Article. In keeping with my journalistic integrity and the general right of reply, I have now come to the following conclusions based on evidence I had the opportunity to review:
Camille Abousleiman was not the “structuring brain” of the whole transaction. He was a partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf, a New York law firm which was retained by Bank Audi to assist in the structuring and issuance of notes exchangeable into Bank Audi shares by two Cayman entities, as these were governed by New York law, Middle East Opportunities for Structured Finance Ltd (“MOSF”) and Investment Finance Opportunties, Ltd (“IFO”).
Dewey & LeBoeuf did not deal with other aspects of the transaction described in the Article and relied, as to matters of Lebanese law, on the legal opinion of an independent Lebanese law firm.
In addition, it is now clear to me that the use of Cayman Island entities and the issuance of notes by MOSF and IFO were done in accordance with the international standards.
The initial information contained in the Article came from sources I interviewed.
I regret the inconvenience that the Article caused Mr Abousleiman.
On a separate note, did you discuss why the Eurobond issuance lacked a Collective Action Clause – CAC ? Also, were the Lebanese law firms, Khoury & Partners and Abou Sleiman & Partners, part of your discussion?