Former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Miqati, his son, brother and others were charged with "illicit enrichment" for obtaining subsidized housing loans, prosecutors said Wednesday. Miqati denied the accusation and considered it "part of the constant pressure on him," expressing his readiness to lift bank secrecy on all his accounts.
Judge Ghada Aoun, the Attorney General of Mount Lebanon, referred the defendants Najib Mikati, his son Maher and his brother Taha, and Bank Audi to the first investigating judge for questioning on charges of illicit enrichment through obtaining state-subsidized housing loans.
Miqati denied the accusation, saying in a series of tweets on his Twitter account: "I am under the law and put myself at the disposal of the judiciary." "This systematic attack against me is under constant pressure on all non-loyal politicians. To the people of Tripoli say that what happened message and I am ready to disclose For all my accounts at home and abroad, I challenge them to have a penny in these accounts. "
We fear nothing. We are in the business world before we enter public affairs. Before anyone scrutinizes here, do they think that international bodies do not monitor everything and do not know the source of every penny? Elly Ando Shi degrades Ainu eyes - Najib Mikati (@Najib_Mikati) October 23, 2019 |
In a press conference hours after the lawsuit was issued against him, the former Lebanese prime minister appealed to Justice Minister Albert Sarhan not to politicize the judiciary and not to use it to eliminate the needs of some.
Fighting corruption
The rare action in Lebanon came two days after Saad Hariri's government approved a package of reforms that included the preparation of a bill to recover looted funds and the establishment of the National Authority for Combating Corruption before the end of the year, in an attempt to contain the public's anger over corruption and waste.
# Najib_mikati and Bank Audi and behind them from the Mafia banks say to you: |
In July 2018, Lebanese media reported documents showing that millions of dollars in loans from banks backed by the Central Bank of Lebanon were obtained as housing loans. Between 2010 and 2013, Miqati received nine of them from Bank Audi.
The Mikati business group in a statement at the time denied the accusations, saying they were "lies with the aim of political defamation," and explained that "we have nothing to do - directly or indirectly - with the crisis of home loans."
The accusations coincided with the ongoing crisis of housing loans in the country, as the Public Housing Corporation stopped granting subsidized loans due to the erosion of the compulsory reserve of Lebanese banks in a short period, in addition to the dispute between these banks and the Central Bank over the value of interest subsidized loans.
A bad relationship keeps me away from #Najib_Meqati, but the prosecution has "laughed at the chins" of the protesters, smelling of the era of reprisals. |
Miqati brothers
The two brothers, Najib and Taha Mikati, from the northern city of Tripoli, are among Lebanon's biggest rich, listed by Forbes magazine on its list of the world's richest people in 2019, with an estimated $ 5 billion in wealth.
Najib Mikati was appointed prime minister for the first time temporarily for several months from 19 April 2005 to 19 July of the same year. He then took office again from June 13, 2011 to March 22, 2013.
The prosecution against Mikati comes amid ongoing protests that began last Thursday. The protesters demand the departure of the government and the entire political class, the recovery of looted funds, and the accountability of corruption and spoilers.