The investigating judge of North Lebanon, Samaranda Nassar, filed charges Tuesday against the Italian company that built the Msaylha Dam near Batroun in North Lebanon, as well as a French consulting company involved in the project, for money laundering and embezzlement of public funds, according to al-Jadeed.

The investigation focuses on the geographical nature of the Msaylha terrain and its capacity to host a dam, even though major consulting firms, including the one that oversaw the creation of the Suez Canal in Egypt, opposed this project and feared leaks, al-Jadeed reported. The session was adjourned until April 8.

Former Energy Minister Walid Fayad was questioned Tuesday by Judge Nassar in connection with this case. Other ministers are expected to be heard as witnesses, according to al-Jadeed.

According to a source familiar with the case, Fayad explained during his interview that his involvement with the case was limited to trying to best regulate potential maintenance work on the dam by requesting that the consulting companies involved provide a written commitment that the company executing this work was bound by a results obligation, thus making it liable in case of failure.

The former minister had this measure validated by the legislative and consultation committee – one of the two advisory committees affiliated with the Justice Ministry.

Fayad also explained that the judiciary took up the case before he could order the commencement of the work, due to the time it took to convince the consulting companies to comply with his request and to find the budget to finance the work.

The magistrate would have dismissed his responsibility in this case, the aforementioned source concludes.

Judge Nassar ordered the sealing of the dam in August 2024 due to suspicions of embezzlement of public funds. The decision was made a month after the financial prosecutor's office, headed by Ali Ibrahim, referred the case to the magistrate to investigate why the dam cost the Lebanese state $64 million despite its inefficiency and lack of use for water retention.

Filled with water in December 2019, the dam is located just meters from the Msaylha Fort, which dates back to the 17th century. It remains widely criticized, particularly by environmental advocates who oppose large dams in Lebanon, projects defended by Gebran Bassil, head of the Free Patriotic Movement and deputy of Batroun. Many voices in public opinion called the project costly and ineffective. Designed to hold up to six million cubic meters of water and supply the villages in the region, the dam has seldom functioned properly. Every summer, photos of the empty dam, showing cracked ground, circulate on social media.

Water management remains a critical issue for Lebanon, a country rich in water resources compared to other Middle Eastern countries, but suffering from poor management despite multiple strategies launched since the end of the civil war in 1990.