Lebanese security sources confirm that the killing of money changer Mohammad Surour is seen as a politically motivated crime, suggesting Israeli involvement.
The investigation, led by Lebanon’s security forces, points towards organized criminal activity rather than a simple robbery.
Surour’s body was found with $6,000 untouched, placed on top, alongside weapons with no fingerprints.
The search for Surour began after his family reported his disappearance on April 4, contradicting his earlier plans to join them for iftar, the dinner that Muslims have to break their fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
As soon as Maj. Gen. Khaled Hammoud heard about Surour’s disappearance, he instructed his team to analyze Surour’s phone records to track his last location before his phone went dead.
The analysis pointed to Beit Merry as the place Surour was last seen.
Lebanese authorities then searched Beit Merry and its surroundings using surveillance cameras. They found Surour’s body in a villa, shot multiple times. It's unclear if he was tortured.
Investigators are also looking into whether his phone was shut off during interrogation about his financial transactions.
Surour apparently used his motorcycle to reach the villa, which was leased online for $50,000.
The person who rented the villa gave a full name, claiming to be Lebanese from a well-known family. But doubts remain about their true identity. The leasing company is still unidentified.
According to sources, his nephew revealed that Surour accompanied him to the villa after being asked by a Lebanese woman, identified later as Z.H., to transfer $14,000 from Iraq.
Surour withdrew the money but was surprised when the woman received it from behind a window.
Days later, she asked for another $4,000, and Surour went alone for the second transaction.
Upon entering the villa, he fell into a trap set by the woman and her accomplices, who interrogated him about his overseas financial transactions before fatally shooting him.
They left the crime weapons underwater in the bathroom to erase fingerprints.
A security source who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat suggests the crime was meticulously organized, intended to send a political message through Surour’s killing, possibly aimed at individuals handling financial affairs for Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The source asserts that the involvement of the Israeli Mossad is clear, speculating that the logistical team responsible for the crime may have been removed from the country, as often occurs in similar cases.
Surour, according to political sources, was not affiliated with Hezbollah, although he was involved in its political circle.
