In recent months, a delegation from the "International Court for the Settlement of Disputes" visited a group of politicians in Lebanon, including "(Dr. H), (R. A), (R. Sh), (A. T)" to discuss the Lebanese file, the Syrian displacement issue, and the Lebanese elections among other topics. However, the unexpected surprise was that the "judges" were not from the international court, but rather a gang that has impersonated this role for over two years to deceive as many politicians as possible, as well as people from the judiciary and the legal field.
In reality, the international court's headquarters are located in some European countries and certainly do not exist in Lebanon, but the group deceived everyone into believing they were working in a judicial unit aimed at combating corruption to achieve international justice and to investigate and arbitrate international political and commercial disputes.
Practically, members of this gang had ample time to manipulate politicians, and one could say they deserve awards in the art of fraud and deception! Initially, they formed a group of four individuals, participated in legal conferences and seminars, defended the rights of judges in Lebanon, proposed some solutions to address the living conditions of judges, and took commemorative photos next to some judges from Lebanon. They then moved on to the second step of visiting political figures, meeting with former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, MP Tony Franjieh, former Prime Minister Tammam Salam, and General Ashraf Rifi.
Perhaps the "massive" scandal is that the gang succeeded in deceiving these politicians, and no one was able to uncover the reality of this group. Not a single politician requested the official identification cards of the judges to verify their identities, and office doors were widely opened for them. This means that any Lebanese citizen could impersonate any security, political, or judicial figure and visit the political class without being asked for any official documents to identify themselves!
### Office for Lawsuit Follow-up
In any case, the purpose of these visits was to promote their work within Lebanon. The gang started setting up an office in the capital, Beirut, to follow up on cases of some Lebanese individuals pending in European courts. This endeavor is merely a "fraud operation" against citizens and politicians alike, where this gang begins to "catch" clients in this manner, claiming they can resolve pending issues in international courts. In this way, gang members earn substantial financial profits from clients wishing to resolve their legal problems outside Lebanese territory.
### Central Criminal Investigations Department Intervenes
This gang spread across various Lebanese territories; Beirut, Jal el Dib, Antelias... It was later revealed that they had been previously pursued for fraud and forgery charges. Additionally, one member of this gang also impersonates a "ambassador." This identity sometimes shifts suddenly from "ambassador" to "international judge," seemingly changing according to circumstances.
Before their meetings expanded, their scheme was exposed, and the Central Criminal Investigations Department, led by Brigadier General Nicolas Saad, intervened in this case, following instructions from the Public Prosecutor, Judge Emily Mirna Klass. The Central Criminal Investigations Department was able, within a few hours, to arrest all members of this gang and put them behind bars to begin expanding the investigations. The case was forwarded to the examining magistrate in Beirut, Judge Wael Sadiq, who - according to information from "Al-Modon" - recused himself from this case for unknown reasons.
Thus, it is clear today that this gang was preparing to announce their project, attempting to trap as many victims as possible. It is evident that this "scandal" has highlighted a flaw that necessitates urgent corrective measures, namely the need to verify any "identity" to avoid falling into such traps!
