The media office of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati indicated that "in the context of a systematic campaign against President Najib Mikati, similar to ongoing campaigns aimed solely at defamation and stirring media dust, information has reached the President about a wide-ranging media campaign that will launch tomorrow in foreign and local media, intended to undermine His Excellency and his family."
The media office added in a statement: "According to the information, this campaign, which commenced today with journalistic inquiries directed to His Excellency's office, is based on the claim that two associations in France have filed a lawsuit against the Prime Minister and his family members on charges of illicit enrichment and money laundering."
It confirmed that "the President and his family members express their respect for any individual's or entity's right to resort to the judiciary; however, until this moment, the family has not received any complaint, either through the competent judicial references or the family's legal representatives, regarding the claims being circulated in the media."
It stated: "Moreover, the circulation in some media outlets concerning details related to these two supposed complaints filed with the French judiciary, before informing the involved parties, raises serious and legitimate questions about the intentions behind this step. It is clear that this plan aims not only to elicit a legal response from the President’s family and his office but also, and above all, to harm His Excellency’s and his family's reputation through deliberate defamation."
It further added: "The President and his family members have always adhered to the applicable laws, and no one in the family or the family’s business group has been convicted in any legal case, either in Lebanon or elsewhere in the world. This established fact reinforces the family’s commitment to legal standards and integrity in all its dealings."
It is important to note in this context that on February 3, 2022, the first investigating judge in Beirut dismissed a lawsuit filed against the family concerning banking loans obtained by family members like many other Lebanese citizens. In August 2023, the Monaco court also dismissed the charges of "illicit enrichment and money laundering" that were presented at the behest of entities within Lebanon due to lack of sufficient evidence, refuting the allegations directed against the Mikati family.
The statement noted that "what the family owns from its commercial enterprises, which have been established for many years, is characterized by complete transparency and adherence to applicable laws, as well as the highest ethical standards. Moreover, its primary field of work, the telecommunications sector, is a prime example of this commitment. The family’s companies, like other investors, participated in public offerings in leading financial markets, particularly on the London Stock Exchange, before being sold to the international group MTN, which confirms the value and strength of the family's global commercial commitments."
The President and his family members have initiated legal proceedings in foreign and Lebanese courts to counter this malicious campaign and uncover those involved and their financiers. The family will not allow any damage to their reputation or that of the President, who leads the executive authority during one of the most critical periods in Lebanon's history, and will pursue all those involved in this campaign legally in Lebanon and abroad, asserting that any direct or indirect involvement in this campaign will subject the perpetrator to legal prosecution.
