In Baalbeck, a notary arrested for document forgery

An Internal Security Forces (ISF) patrol last week arrested a Baalbeck notary, H.K., based on an arrest warrant issued against them by the interim first investigating judge of the Bekaa, Amani Salameh, a judicial source told L'Orient-Le Jour.

The notary is accused of fabricating an irrevocable power of attorney, which she allegedly attributed to a father for the benefit of his family members to facilitate tax evasion related to inheritance tax. She also allegedly backdated the document, making it appear as if it was established before the father's death. An irrevocable power of attorney remains valid even after the death of its author, explained the aforementioned source.

Before issuing the arrest warrant, Judge Salameh repeatedly summoned the notary to appear, but she consistently evaded. In light of her refusal to appear, the magistrate issued an indictment against her, noting that "the accused is supposed to guarantee the authenticity of official acts, which have strong probative value for everyone," accusing her of "serious betrayal of her oath and duties."

A dozen offenses

In her decision, Judge Salameh also mentions that the notary has "a criminal record loaded with prosecutions, which does not qualify her to continue exercising her duties." The implicated notary is reportedly the subject of about a dozen criminal prosecutions for prior offenses, according to the judicial source, noting that some of these offenses date back to 2020, under the mandate of former Justice Minister Albert Serhan, who had not authorized prosecutions in two cases. L'Orient-Le Jour attempted to contact Serhan for comment but was unsuccessful.

"Even in the absence of a final conviction judgment, disciplinary measures (dismissal, referral to central inspection, etc.) must be taken by the Justice Ministry against them," stated the first investigating judge in her decision, a copy of which she forwarded to the concerned ministry.

According to information relayed by the media, which L'Orient-Le Jour newspaper could not confirm, H.K. is also allegedly involved in land sale operations conducted without the knowledge of their owners, which they allegedly concluded while knowing the sellers were impersonating the real owners. In this case, they reportedly claimed during an interrogation that they did not sufficiently verify the identity of these sellers due to "work pressure."

The case against H.K. compiled by Judge Salameh has been referred to the Bekaa accusation chamber, presided over by Ghada Bou Karroum.