Lebanon arrests ex-economy minister over fraud

Authorities in Lebanon on June 11th apprehended the country’s ex-economy minister over charges of embezzlement, forgery and the misuse of funding, Al-Monitor reported.

The Court of Cassation’s Attorney General, Judge Jamal Hajjar, ordered the arrest of the ex-economy minister, Amin Salam, after three hours of interrogation, surrounding his alleged complicity in forgery, agreeing to suspicious contracts and the embezzlement of funds.

The case concerning Salam’s arrest is different to another probe which involves Salam, involving accusations such as illicit enrichment. Since March, the former economy minister has been under investigation.

The complaint accuses Salam of extorting private insurers. It claims the ex-economy minister spent Insurance Control Commission funds on personal expenditure while he was the minister. Asharq al-Awsat’s report also claimed his office expenses often reached $70,000 per month.

The case also involved Karim Salam, Salam’s brother and business partner. It also included his adviser, Fadi Tamim, and Elie Abboud, a licensed accountant.

According to The Washington Post on June 12th, Salam failed to directly comment on the charges. But on June 9th he posted a video on social media that denied the claims. Salam declared his use of the funds aimed to improve the committee’s success and transparency.

Salam served as economy minister for more than three years. He took up the role in 2021 when Lebanon’s economy had collapsed. At that time, the country faced severe power cuts, fuel deficits, and high food inflation.

Lebanon is not the only country confronting arrests of notable officials. On April 23rd, Maghrebi reported that Tunisian officials arrested lawyer and ex-administrative court judge, Ahmed Sawab. According to the Middle East Monitor on April 22nd, he faced charges of “conspiracy against the state.”

Al-Monitor, Asharq al-Awsat, The Washington Post, Middle East Monitor, Maghrebi.org