Saniora: Anyone Setting Up a Mini-State inside the State is Corrupt

Ex-PM Fouad Saniora on Friday described the issue of the “missing” $11 billion as a “farce,” as he announced that those “setting up mini-states inside the state” are the real corrupts, in an apparent jab at Hizbullah.

At a press conference he held to comment on the latest controversy sparked by MP Hassan Fadlallah's remarks, Saniora said the 11 billion dollars in question were spent on interest hikes, treasury loans for Electricite Du Liban, and wage hikes and recruitment expenses for the armed forces.

“The entire $11 billion issue is a storm in a teacup,” Saniora added.

“Someone is trying to deviate people's attention to other issues to conceal what they are doing and to prevent real reform,” he went on to say.

“What is happening today resembles what happened in 1999 regarding the so-called fabricated Bourj Hammoud scandal, in which I was accused of being involved,” Saniora said.

“Someone is preparing such farces,” the ex-PM warned.

Noting that the spending did not violate the law, but was rather “fully legal,” Saniora said “talk about the absence of documents is a silly joke aimed at distorting the images of all the governments that were led by Rafik Hariri and to insult him and insult all the premiers who succeeded him including Saad Hariri.”

Apparently lashing out at Hizbullah and its allies, Saniora added: “The bigger corruption is political corruption. A politically corrupt person is anyone who sets up mini-states inside the state, controls its facilities, impedes constitutional junctures and prevents the implementation of the law.”

The former premier also noted that he has prepared a “complete study” that he would submit to President Michel Aoun, the Council of Ministers and Parliament in order to “clarify all details.”

“We want to put an end to the stories that are misleading the people,” he said.