Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has held Central Bank Governor Riad Salmeh responsible for the downward spiral of the national currency, accusing him of pursuing “opaque” policies that sent the pound crashing against the dollar. The Lebanese pound has been on a downward trajectory for weeks amid a worsening liquidity crunch and an economic slump. But it appeared to be in a free fall over the last few days, selling as low as 3,800 pounds to the dollar, down from a fixed peg of 1,500 pounds to the dollar in place for 30 years. “The Central Bank is either incapable, absent or directly inciting this dramatic depreciation," Diab said on Friday in a televised speech following the cabinet session at Baabda Palace. Lebanon’s lack of liquidity has been compounded since mid-March by a lockdown to stem the novel coronavirus. Banks have gradually restricted dollar withdrawals until halting them altogether last month, and transfers abroad have been banned. But reports have circulated of persistent capital flight, the latest announced by Diab during a televised speech on Friday. According to Diab, numbers show that $5.7 billion in deposits have left the banks between January and February, adding to the liquidity crunch — something he described as a financial “black hole.” “The public is paying the price for this policy,” said the PM. His comments drew sharp criticism from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who accused Diab of throwing the blame of Lebanon’s economic collapse “in the direction of the governance of the Central Bank,” and for inciting public opinion by using “dangerous and manipulative words.” In a statement released by his office, Hariri attributed the current financial collapse to the government’s delay in producing a rescue plan. Hariri resigned in October after unprecedented anti-government protests shook the country.