Lebanon’s Mikati Says Monaco Corruption Probe against Him Has Ended

27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)
27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Lebanon’s Mikati Says Monaco Corruption Probe against Him Has Ended

27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)
27 March 2023, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks during a press conference following a meeting of cabinet. (Dalati & Nohra)

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that Monaco has ended a three-year investigation into him and his family over corruption allegations due to insufficient evidence.

The investigations were opened after some "Lebanese entities" submitted information about illicit enrichment and money laundering in regard to him and members of his family, Mikati's office said in a statement.

Monaco's deputy public prosecutor, Morgan Raymond, informed Mikati's team that the investigation "was closed due to the lack of evidence," the statement added.

Monaco's public prosecution was not immediately reachable for comment.

A Lebanese news organization, Daraj, had reported in 2021 on the "Pandora Papers", a set of leaked documents purporting to reveal offshore transactions involving global political and business figures.

As part of its reporting, Daraj said Mikati owned an offshore firm in Panama called Hessvile through which he bought a property in Monaco worth 7 million euros.

Mikati, one of Lebanon's richest men, had said in response that his family wealth comes from a communications business that has been audited in the past and is legal.



Aoun Vows to Tackle All Pending Issues between Lebanon and Syria

 10 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun waits to receive his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides at Baabda presidential palace. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
10 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun waits to receive his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides at Baabda presidential palace. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Aoun Vows to Tackle All Pending Issues between Lebanon and Syria

 10 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun waits to receive his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides at Baabda presidential palace. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
10 January 2025, Lebanon, Baabda: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun waits to receive his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides at Baabda presidential palace. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun stressed on Sunday the importance of cooperation to address all pending issues between Lebanon and Syria.

He received a telephone call from head of Syria’s new authorities Ahmed al-Sharaa, who congratulated him on his election as president on Thursday.

Aoun underscored the “fraternal relations that bind the Syrian and Lebanese people.”

The officials also stressed the importance of building and developing positive relations between their countries.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati had visited Damascus on Saturday for talks with al-Sharaa.

The leaders stressed their keenness on building long-term strategic relations based on mutual respect and national sovereignty after decades of strained ties.

The trip was the first by a head of government to Syria since Bashar al-Assad was toppled by a sweeping opposition offensive on Dec. 8, and the first visit by a Lebanese premier to neighboring Syria in 15 years. Ties between Damascus and Beirut have often been fraught since they became independent states in the 1940s.