A photo posted on Nov. 24, 2018, on George Ajaltouni's Facebook account, appearing to show him alongside Gebran Bassil.
It is a new blow for Gebran Bassil’s camp. The US Department of Justice published on Wednesday indictments initially filed between 2016 and 2019 against three Lebanese men hailing from Batroun, charged with smuggling firearms from the US to Lebanon and with income tax evasion.One of the three persons, George Ajaltouni, 47, is allegedly a member of the security team of Gebran Bassil, MP for Batroun and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement.A few months ahead of the Lebanon’s presidential elections, these new disclosures have once again made any potential accession by Bassil to Baabda difficult. Bassil has been under US sanctions since 2020 for alleged corruption and links to Hezbollah. He has rejected the sanctions and described them as politically motivated.Then in June 2022, the Lebanese government was officially notified of a US civil...
It is a new blow for Gebran Bassil’s camp. The US Department of Justice published on Wednesday indictments initially filed between 2016 and 2019 against three Lebanese men hailing from Batroun, charged with smuggling firearms from the US to Lebanon and with income tax evasion.One of the three persons, George Ajaltouni, 47, is allegedly a member of the security team of Gebran Bassil, MP for Batroun and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement.A few months ahead of the Lebanon’s presidential elections, these new disclosures have once again made any potential accession by Bassil to Baabda difficult. Bassil has been under US sanctions since 2020 for alleged corruption and links to Hezbollah. He has rejected the sanctions and described them as politically motivated.Then in June 2022, the Lebanese government was officially notified of a US...