The head of the "Free Patriotic Movement," Deputy Gebran Bassil, announced that the presidential vacuum and the dangers of war and displacement do not make us forget the financial collapse, which accelerated after October 17. After a meeting of the Strong Lebanon Bloc, Bassil stated, "To this day, the figures have not been provided to Faris and Marsal, so we continue to follow the Optimum file." He emphasized that this is a matter of right that we do not forget or remain silent about, especially since President Michel Aoun was behind the forensic audit, and the preliminary report revealed frightening results.
He insisted that "the corruption files that led to the looting of depositors' funds from banks cannot be silenced, and we cannot live in a state where corruption thrives. The principle of impunity cannot be overlooked, and it is necessary to recover the depositors' funds." He affirmed that "recovering depositors' funds is not poetic but must be pursued by recovering the funds transferred abroad, selectively, and we have submitted a draft law to recover them. The second source is the embezzled funds."
Basil pointed out that "the file we have concerns Optimum and the forensic audit report, which has concealed 43 operations, and there are crimes of forgery and concealment regarding where the funds were transferred. All these operations are hidden, so we are facing a report from an official company that has credibility." He noted that "Judge Aoun was assaulted to withdraw the file from her, and if you can withdraw it from a Lebanese judge, you will not be able to withdraw it from the Free Patriotic Movement."
Basil confirmed, "We will not remain silent, and at the meeting of the bloc, we submitted a question to the government with the necessary details, raising 10 questions centered on preventing the judiciary from doing its work and the avenues to which the funds have been transferred." He added, "We will give a short period; if we do not receive a response, we will go to the judiciary, and we have contacted international lawyers to explore the possibility of filing complaints in European countries to pursue the file in European courts."
Basil concluded by saying, "We will continue to pursue them; this is our cause, mission, and message, and we will follow it to the end, and we are behind the perpetrators."
