PSP leader Walid Joumblatt. (Credit: AFP/File photo)
BEIRUT — The head of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the public prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, Judge Ghada Aoun, after the latter shared a picture of a list of names of individuals whose deposits in Switzerland were allegedly frozen by the United States, PSP MP Bilal Abdallah confirmed to L'Orient Today. The shared list included Joumblatt's name.
On Nov. 9, Judge Aoun shared an image of a list of names of Lebanese officials whose Swiss bank accounts have allegedly been frozen by the US administration. The lists included Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and his wife, Randa Berri, as well as Joumblatt.
"I don't know how true this information is. But why don't the people whose names are on this list disclose their accounts in Swiss banks? Only for the sake of transparency!" Judge Aoun tweeted. "I hope this will pave the way for a law on lifting bank secrecy," she added, before a short time later deleting her tweet.
The list of names also included former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his brother, businessman Taha Mikati, Governor of Banque Du Liban Riad Salameh, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and MP Paula Yacoubian.
In early November, Berri filed a lawsuit against Aoun.
The judge was referred to the Judicial Inspection in April 2021 after her highly publicized searches at the headquarters of the company Mecattaf, in Aoukar, north of Beirut. Aoun also refused to comply with a decision by Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat to remove her from financial crimes cases.
The judge, who has prosecuted senior officials in recent years, including Salameh and the Mikati brothers — is often at the center of judicial controversy and is known for her affiliation with the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by former President Michel Aoun and headed by his son-in-law, Gebran Bassil.