Two anti-corruption organisations have filed a complaint with French prosecutors accusing Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati of alleged money laundering.
France's National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) received a report from Sherpa and the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices on Tuesday.
In a statement to The National, the Mikati family strongly denied the claims and stressed that its business dealings strictly complied with the law.
Prosecutors in France will now have to decide whether to initiate an investigation or to drop the case in the event of insufficient evidence.
Mr Mikati has been Lebanon's Prime Minister since 2021. Originally from Tripoli, where he served as a politician, he is one of the richest men in Lebanon, with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion.
In the complaint obtained by The National, the two plaintiffs, represented by French lawyers William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth, have compiled evidence alleging the fraudulent origin of Mr Mikati's wealth, invested in France and abroad.
The Mikati family has denied the allegations, emphasising that they “have not received a copy of any complaint filed against us, although the details of this complaint appear to have been shared with the media, which raises serious concerns about the intentions of this approach. Such a strategy aims to damage our reputation pre-emptively and deliberately.”
“We have always acted in strict compliance with the laws and no member of our family or holding company has ever been found to be in violation with the laws, by a court of justice, be it in Lebanon or elsewhere around the world,” they said in a statement shared with The National.
The document provides an alleged non-exhaustive mapping of the Mikati family's properties across France and overseas, delving into intricate property set-ups tied to offshore entities involving, among others, Mr Mikati's brother Taha, his son Maher, and his nephew Azmi.
Telecom tycoon
A telecom tycoon and former shareholder at Bank Audi, one of Lebanon's largest banks, Mr Mikati's 2021 appointment as prime minister drew criticism in some Lebanese circles, where opponents see him as part of the financial-political clan that plunged the country into a crushing economic crisis.
His rescue cabinet, now in caretaker capacity, has since faced criticism for its scant efforts in tackling what the World Bank has described as a “deliberate” economic depression orchestrated by Lebanon's elite, after decades of corruption.
“The extensive network of offshore firms linked to the Mikati family, which hold several French estate investment companies, strongly suggests, at the very least, the offence of tax fraud laundering, without prejudice of other financial crimes,” Mr Bourdon told The National.
But the Mikati family said its source of wealth “is entirely transparent and legitimate. Our primary area of business, the telecoms sector, exemplifies this”.
Sherpa, a French NGO specialised in fighting against economic crimes, and the French-Lebanese Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices, established by depositors who lost their life savings in the crisis, are the same plaintiffs who initiated the 2021 complaint in France against former Lebanon central bank governor Riad Salameh, who is accused of embezzling hundreds of millions.
The complaint against Mr Salameh gained momentum quickly, resulting in the creation of an international investigative team involving Germany and Luxembourg, the seizure of significant real estate assets in Europe, as well as an arrest warrant being issued for Mr Salameh.
Mr Salameh has previously denied any wrongdoing, claiming his wealth was lawfully acquired through investments he made before he was appointed as governor in 1993. He did not respond to The National's emailed questions.
One key distinction is that Mr Salameh has been a civil servant for three decades, whereas Mr Mikati has made a fortune from many businesses. Yet, this revenue is taxable under Lebanese law.
As a Lebanese tax resident, Mr Mikati is subject to a 10 per cent tax on his annual movable income generated worldwide. The complaint listed a slew of companies operating abroad related to the M1 Group, which Mr Mikati co-founded with his brother in 2007.
In September, Lebanon's government attempted to grant Lebanese residents a tax exemption on their foreign movable assets income before 2022. This decision, called a “fiscal amnesty,” faced criticism and was not approved.
In any case, under French law, the source offence does not need to be prosecuted in Lebanon for a money laundering case to be pursued.
