The head of the "Arab Unity Party," Wiam Wahhab, clarified what he described as "Al-Habtoor's violations," saying that "Khalaf Al-Habtoor is the Emirati businessman who claims to love Lebanon and prides himself on supporting the Lebanese economy through projects and investments. He is also close to many officials in Lebanon."
In a statement on the "X" platform, Wahhab said, "It seems that Khalaf is angry these days, with Lebanon and its rulers, because he claims he cannot withdraw a bank deposit of 50 million US dollars. Therefore, I decided, for the sake of truth and in fairness to Khalaf’s friends, the corrupt rulers of Lebanon, to publish some of what was concealed about Khalaf's financial and investment actions in Lebanon."
Wahhab pointed out that "Khalaf's primary investment in Lebanon is the Al-Habtoor Tower, which was revealed as violating laws and regulations by Mohammad Qabbani, the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Works and Transportation in 2005. He indicated that the Al-Habtoor Tower violates Lebanon's regulations with a height exceeding what is permitted by approximately 25 meters, leading to the cessation of airplane landings on the eastern runway of Beirut Airport, making the western runway the only one handling both landing and takeoff."
Wahhab added: "Deputy Qabbani raised questions about the responsibility for this violation, how it occurred, with whose permission, and who received bribes to overlook this crime against Lebanon and its only airport, resulting in massive revenue losses that the Lebanese economy could have benefited from due to the operation of this runway."
He noted that "it is widely known that Khalaf Al-Habtoor has deposited huge sums in Lebanese banks for over 30 years, aiming to reap huge profits through the policy of high interest rates and financial engineering adopted by Khalaf's close friend, Riad Salameh." He pointed out that "Khalaf Al-Habtoor's profits from these actions exceeded hundreds of millions of dollars, and this remaining 50 million in his bank accounts in Beirut is merely a small part of his incredible profits," concluding with the remark: "After all these violations and crimes, we say: Khalaf, be ashamed and remain silent."
