In recent years, the illicit stamp trade has been heavily trafficked on the black market. This has affected the acquisition of stamps by public administrations, as stamps have become a scarce commodity.
As a result, many citizens living in Lebanon have been prevented from carrying out essential official transactions, in particular, the acquisition of marriage and birth certificates. This also had a major impact on the Lebanese Diaspora and students studying abroad, who had to carry out administrative formalities, such as renewing passports.
In view of the shortages, citizens were left with no other option than to obtain a tax stamp, by going to the black market where clandestine dealers did not hesitate to extort them, selling them stamps at exorbitant prices. A transaction that used to cost between 10 and 15 dollars now costs a minimum of 80 dollars.
File reactivated by Judge Jamal Hajjar and ongoing investigation
The case, which had been languishing in the justice system’s drawers, was reactivated by the Interim Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Jamal Hajjar, who took charge of the case last month and launched an investigation.
Judge Hajjar’s investigation is based on a report he received from the Court of Auditors, which revealed that “the operations through which black market stamp sellers reaped financial profits amounted to up to 20 million dollars a year, while Treasury revenues from stamp sales recorded less than two million dollars.”
The Court of Auditors’ report also pointed the finger at “Treasury employees at the Ministry of Finance who did not respect stamp distribution schedules, distributing more than the authorized quantities to licensees.” The latter then “monopolized the stamps and sold them at exorbitant prices.” The lack of control at the Ministry of Finance in terms of sales facilitated manipulations that were difficult to detect.
A judicial source told our sister company Houna Loubnan that “Friday’s session will be a long one. It will bring together a number of finance employees and owners of authorized stamp sales centers, who will be questioned.” The sources also indicated that “very important developments in this case, including some arrests, are expected to take place next week.”
