Ibrahim Kanaan, FPM MP. (Credit: NNA)
Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) MP, Ibrahim Kanaan, requested on Monday that the Court of Cassation initiate a judicial inquiry to identify and sanction those responsible for the accusations against him that have been circulating on social media since he announced his resignation from the party last Wednesday. These accusations involve alleged "bank transfers to his accounts abroad" following the financial crisis in October 2019. The accusations are accompanied by documents attributed to Crédit Libanais, mentioning money transfers to the benefit of Kanaan and his wife.
Speaking to L'Orient-Le Jour, Kanaan asserted that these "lies" about him transferring money had been disproven by the bank itself. In a letter dated November 2020, which L'OLJ reviewed, Crédit Libanais stated that the documents in question were "falsified" and that "no other transfer" had been made to the MP and his wife. Kanaan added that a similar statement had been issued by BLOM Bank.
He recalled that just over three years ago, he filed a complaint against unknown persons with the Court of Cassation. The former prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidate (who retired last February), referred the case to the appellate prosecutor in July 2021, requesting prosecutions for defamation and forgery. The Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Bureau had previously conducted investigations on the matter. The appellate prosecutor then confirmed the prosecutions "against anyone identified by the investigation as having claimed that Kanaan transferred U.S. dollar amounts to Switzerland." The case was subsequently handed over to Beirut investigating judge Fouad Mrad, "who is continuing his investigations into the identity of the defamers," according to a lawyer close to the MP who spoke on condition of anonymity.
'Moral assassination'
Kanaan denounced what he called his "moral assassination" via our newspaper. In a statement, he said that "the machinery of lies and incitement continues to falsify facts, aiming to distort the truth and undermine (his) political and legislative career." He expressed his determination to uncover "the mastermind behind the deception," while noting that "the individuals behind this campaign are known." When asked about their identities, the MP declined to provide further details.
Currently, the dissident MP, who is also the chairman of the parliamentary Finance Committee, is engaged in a heated exchange with former Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm over the non-adoption of the deposit recovery plan that was established by the Hassan Diab government (2020), of which Najm was a member. Najm holds Kanaan partly responsible for the issue, while the MP argues that the plan was never submitted to Parliament as a draft law and that, in any case, the proposal to recover ten billion dollars from corrupt funds "is completely unfeasible," according to a close associate of the MP.
Najm has called on Kanaan for a public debate on the matter. The MP's associate indicated that Kanaan is ready for such a debate, emphasizing that the former minister is currently outside Lebanon. When contacted, Najm was not immediately available for comment.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour
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