Lebanese Billionaire and Top Bank Accused of Illicit Gains - Bloomberg:
A state prosecutor accused former prime minister Najib Mikati -- Lebanon’s richest man -- and the country’s biggest bank of making illicit gains from a subsidized housing program, in the first corruption case filed since anti-government protesters took to the streets a week ago.
The lawmaker, his brother Taha and his son Maher, as well as Bank Audi, are alleged to have illegally benefited from loans subsidized by the central bank to help ordinary families buy their own home, the state-owned National News Agency said. The illicit gains law in Lebanon criminalizes profits made through bribes or abuse of public office. The case against Mikati marks the first time it has ever been implemented, according to monitoring group Legal Agenda.
Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have filled the streets nationwide in the past week, taking aim at a political elite they blame for entrenched corruption and worsening living conditions. The government presented an emergency reform plan Monday to avert financial crisis and appease the public, but the move has failed to quell the revolt.
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