Attorney General Jamal Hajjar issued a decision on Thursday prohibiting former Minister of Economy Amin Salam from leaving the country. At the same time, he submitted a request to the General Directorate of Public Security to enforce this travel ban, relying on a report forwarded by the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Industry, Trade and Planning.
Complaint and Serious Accusations
On Thursday morning, MP Farid Boustani, president of the aforementioned committee, officially filed a complaint with the public prosecutor’s office against Amin Salam and several of his close associates, including his advisers Karim Salam and Fadi Tamim, as well as Elie Abboud, the latter in his capacity as an authorized signatory. The charges brought against them are severe: embezzlement, extortion, misappropriation of public funds and money laundering.
Arrest Warrants on the Horizon?
According to judicial sources cited by the news outlet Al-Modon, Prosecutor Hajjar decided to impose a travel ban on all individuals named in the report, pending notification of their hearing dates. They are expected to be summoned to the Beirut Palace of Justice in the coming days to respond to the allegations against them.
Sources close to the case, also cited by Al-Modon, indicate that Judge Hajjar is currently reviewing the documents submitted by the parliamentary committee and plans to interrogate Salam and his advisers. If the evidence confirms their involvement, formal indictments could follow, potentially leading to arrests.
A Damning Case
The article notes that this case is part of an extensive investigation conducted by the parliamentary economic committee. A preliminary file has been compiled, listing a series of alleged irregularities committed by Amin Salam during his tenure at the Ministry of Economy. One of the most sensitive issues concerns his management of the insurance sector. When questioned about it, the former minister was summoned for a hearing last February but failed to appear, according to the report. In response to his refusal, committee members decided to refer the case to both the public prosecutor’s office and the financial prosecutor’s office, triggering official legal proceedings.
Past Allegations and Lingering Suspicions
Suspicions surrounding Amin Salam are not new. According to Al-Modon, as early as 2023, his adviser Fadi Tamim was accused of extorting insurance companies, allegedly demanding large sums of money in exchange for maintaining their licenses with the ministry. He was arrested after a report was submitted to the financial prosecutor’s office, which immediately launched an investigation.
Further inquiries later uncovered a broader corruption scheme involving Amin Salam’s brother. He allegedly required insurance companies to conduct their financial solvency assessments through a firm owned by Tamim, in exchange for significant payments. The Beirut Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Samir Akiki, concluded that Salam and Tamim had abused their power to extract funds from the insurance sector.
Beyond these accusations, Amin Salam is also suspected of misappropriating public funds, including allocating over $50,000 per month to operate his office and signing questionable contracts.
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