Hassan Khalil to Unveil Customs 'Scandals' Soon, Orders Prosecution of Land Registry Secretary

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil made a sudden inspection visit Tuesday to the Customs department at the Beirut Port, unveiling “scandals” which he said would disclose in the near future.

“You will hear about scandals and major accountability measures at the Customs department,” Khalil told al-Jadeed TV after touring the port.

Separately, the ministry issued a statement announcing “the appointment of 73 new employees at some departments of the Directorate of Real Estate Affairs.”

The ministry also asked the prosecutor of the North to file a lawsuit against a land registry secretary operating in northern Lebanon as it referred to the judiciary four new complaints related to the issue of the commons of some towns and regions.

Hassan Khalil has recently launched an anti-corruption campaign at the finance ministry, apparently emulating the campaign kicked off by Wael Abou Faour at the health ministry.

On December 1 he referred 55 real estate directorate employees to investigation as he lamented what he described as a “dire situation” at the land surveying department.

“The real danger lies in the way state properties and commons are being handled,” the minister said, revealing that he intends to form a complaints committee.

Y.R.