The Court of Audit, within the framework of its work related to judicial oversight of employees, issued its final decision No. 165/R.Q., headed by Abdul Reda Nasser and with the membership of advisors Muhammad Al-Hajj and Joseph Al-Kasrouani. The decision addressed the violations and excesses attributed to ministers Nicolas Sehnaoui, Boutros Harb, Jamal Al-Jarrah, Mohammad Choucair, Talal Hawat, and Johnny Al-Qorm, related to the following:
Leasing the state-owned MIC 2 company for the Qassabian – Al-Shiah building, and paying rent for many years (exceeding $10 million) without using it.
MIC 2 leasing the Al-Bashoura building (Blocks C and B) from property No. (1526), then purchasing it in installments with financial interest and high costs.
The court decided to fine the aforementioned ministers, with the exception of Minister Boutros Harb, who was considered to have protected the Lebanese state from financial losses estimated at about $20 million by terminating the lease. The execution of the penalty against Minister Talal Hawat was also suspended due to lack of proof of bad faith.
The report reviewed the details of the entire case and the measures taken during the tenure of the ministers concerned in the Ministry of Communications, and concluded with the final decision. Within the framework of judicial oversight of employees, the following was ruled:
Firstly: Regarding Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui:
1- Accepting the defense of the former Minister of Communications Nicolas Sehnaoui in form.
2- Rejecting the defense of Minister of Communications Nicolas Sehnaoui in substance.
3- Fining Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui the maximum amount stipulated in Article (60) of the Law on the Organization of the Court of Audit on the date of committing the violation, and the maximum amount stipulated in Article (61) of the same law, equivalent to his gross salary for (12) months on the date of committing the violation.
4- Requesting the Minister of Communications to issue a collection document against Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui in the amount of $8,078,146 (eight million seventy-eight thousand one hundred and forty-six dollars).
Secondly: Regarding Minister Boutros Harb:
1- Accepting the defense of the former Minister of Communications Boutros Harb in form.
2- Exempting former Minister Boutros Harb from the penalty based on paragraph 3 of Article 62 of the Law on the Organization of the Court of Audit, because his termination of the lease avoided the Lebanese treasury certain financial damages estimated at about twenty million dollars, which it would have incurred had the contract not been terminated.
Thirdly: Regarding Minister Jamal Al-Jarrah:
1- Accepting the defense of Minister Jamal Al-Jarrah in form.
2- Rejecting the defense of Minister Jamal Al-Jarrah in substance.
3- Fining Minister Jamal Al-Jarrah the maximum amount stipulated in Article (60) and the maximum amount stipulated in Article (61) of the Law on the Organization of the Court of Audit, equivalent to his gross salary for (12) months on the date of committing the violation.
4- Requesting the Minister of Communications to issue a collection document against Minister Jamal Al-Jarrah in the amount of $11.3 million (eleven million three hundred thousand US dollars), because he approved the payment of undue amounts for equipping the building ($22.6 million), knowing that the concluded lease stipulated that it was a (Core and Shell) contract, which makes the expenses of completing the building the responsibility of the owner, “City Development” company, and not the tenant (Touch company and the Ministry of Communications).
Fourthly: Regarding Minister Mohammad Choucair:
1- Accepting the defense of Minister Mohammad Choucair in form.
2- Rejecting the defense of Minister Mohammad Choucair in substance.
3- Fining Minister Mohammad Choucair the maximum amount stipulated in Article (60) and the maximum amount stipulated in Article (61) of the Law on the Organization of the Court of Audit, equivalent to his gross salary for (12) months.
4- Requesting the Minister of Communications to issue a collection document against Minister Mohammad Choucair in the amount of $11.3 million (eleven million three hundred thousand US dollars), because Minister Mohammad Choucair agreed with the owner (City Development Company) to cancel the lease contract and consider it as if it had never been, and to organize a purchase contract for the building, but he did not demand the recovery of the amount paid to the company to complete the building, amounting to $22.6 million, within the framework of the lease contract, and did not include it in the price of the building.
Fifthly: Regarding Minister Talal Hawat:
1- Accepting the defense of Minister Talal Hawat in form.
2- Rejecting the defense of Minister Talal Hawat in substance.
3- Fining Minister Talal Hawat the maximum amount stipulated in Article (60) of the Law on the Organization of the Court of Audit.
4- Suspending the execution of the penalty imposed on Minister Talal Hawat due to lack of proof of bad faith, based on Article 62, paragraph (4), which stipulates: “If the Court rules a fine, it may decide to suspend its execution if it is certain of the good faith of the convicted person…”
Sixthly: Regarding Minister Johnny Al-Qorm:
1- Accepting the defense of Minister Johnny Al-Qorm in form.
2- Rejecting the defense of Minister Johnny Al-Qorm in substance.
3- Fining Minister Johnny Al-Qorm the maximum amount stipulated in Articles (60) and (61), equivalent to his gross salary for (12) months.
4- Requesting the Minister of Communications to issue a collection document against Minister Johnny Al-Qorm in the amount of $4,920,000 US dollars (four million nine hundred and twenty thousand dollars), as a result of the shortage in the number of parking spaces (123 spaces) at a rate of ($40,000) per space.
This is because Minister Johnny Al-Qorm agreed to sign the sale contract based on the amended demarcation maps, which reduced the number of parking spaces from 237 to 114 spaces, i.e., a decrease of 123 spaces, and reduced the available areas after merging Blocks B and C and making them one block. Expert Saeed Fathah indicated in his report that the price of one parking space is estimated at fifty thousand dollars as of 5/5/2023.
Seventh: Regarding Zain Company:
Requesting the Minister of Communications to take the necessary measures to collect compensation for the damage amounting to $2,750,000 US dollars, as a result of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of MIC 2, appointed by it, Peter Kalliopolos, retracting the decision to terminate the lease against the instructions given to him, and despite Minister Boutros Harb’s request to reconfirm the termination decision.
Eighth:
Communicating this decision to the ministers Nicolas Sehnaoui, Boutros Harb, Jamal Al-Jarrah, Mohammad Choucair, Talal Hawat, Johnny Al-Qorm, and to the Ministry of Communications, the Treasury Directorate, the Public Prosecution at the Court, and the Public Prosecution of Cassation through the Public Prosecution at the Court of Audit to follow up on suspicions about money laundering, bribery, and squandering of public funds mentioned in the decision.
It is also communicated to: The General Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic, the General Secretariat of the Parliament, the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, the Cases Authority in the Ministry of Justice, the National Anti-Corruption Authority, the Public Procurement Authority, the General Directorate of Real Estate Affairs, and the Chairman of the Information and Communications Committee.
Ninth:
Requesting both the Ministry of Finance (Treasury Directorate) and the Ministry of Communications to inform the Court within a month of the measures taken to implement this decision in order to recover and collect the rights of the state and the treasury.
Tenth:
Requesting the Ministry of Communications to work with the competent real estate departments to restore 123 parking spaces that were originally at the disposal of Touch Company under the lease of Blocks B and C of property 1526 – Al-Bashoura.
