The Lebanese General Security has launched an internal investigation following the discovery of a scheme to issue passports to non-Lebanese individuals who obtained them through forgery for large sums of money. A senior source in General Security confirmed to "Al-Anbaa" that Major General Elias Bessri personally took charge of the case and ordered the arrest of an agency member involved in this operation, along with several other individuals including brokers and intermediaries. This incident has raised serious concerns as the involved member exploited their sensitive position within the General Directorate of State Security and used their account, which should serve Lebanese citizens, for dubious purposes. Bessri decided to respond firmly against anyone who dares to misuse their position for such goals.
According to information circulating about the case, General Security seized a recently completed Lebanese passport for a Palestinian individual who impersonated the name of a Lebanese citizen from the town of Shaat in the Bekaa region. With the help of a local official, the individual secured a civil registry document and submitted a passport application to the General Directorate of General Security, receiving it in an expedited manner. It was noted that the passport owner paid more than 30,000 US dollars, which was distributed among brokers, intermediaries, the local official, and witnesses.
The source mentioned that a comprehensive investigation is underway to check if similar individuals had previously obtained passports in this manner. There are suspicions regarding the possibility of Iraqi individuals obtaining Lebanese passports in the same way, though this information is not yet confirmed and is still under scrutiny.
This situation is not unprecedented, as the security source revealed that by the end of 2023, four Syrians had obtained Lebanese passports through fraudulent transactions for very high financial sums. Those holding the passports, along with several local officials and intermediaries involved in the operations, were arrested, and the passports were immediately withdrawn and cancelled, with the names of the holders circulated at the borders and Interpol to prevent the use of Lebanese passports if found with them.
To prevent repeats of such operations, the same source indicated that Major General Bessri ordered the implementation of strict controls on the procedures for any citizen obtaining a passport for the first time. He clarified that the General Director of General Security issued a circular requiring the applicant to present a biometric civil registry document that cannot be forged and is no more than three months old. Additionally, the application must be submitted in the applicant’s area of residence to conduct personal inquiries and investigations to confirm whether the passport seeker is Lebanese or not.
Following leaks about the aforementioned passports, the General Security's Media Affairs Office issued a statement clarifying that at the beginning of 2024, the General Directorate of General Security seized forged Lebanese passports obtained by their holders based on individual civil registries bearing the details of Lebanese citizens, along with the applicant's solar fee, accompanied by validated passport applications signed by local officials and witnesses according to "Al-Anbaa" newspaper.
