Man Fakes his own Kidnapping to Cover Embezzlement

A man confessed to faking his own kidnapping to cover the funds he embezzled from the company he works for, announced the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau in a statement on Wednesday.

It said that N.H., an accountant at a commercial establishment in the northern city of Tripoli, faked his abduction at the hands of alleged assailants.

The supposed assailants sent a text to his wife from the “victim's” telephone directed to his place of employment demanding a ransom of 8 million Lebanese pounds.

The so-called kidnappers warned that they would abduct more employees if their demands were not met, said the ISF statement.

Following investigations, it was determined that N.H. was never kidnapped and that he had “come up with this charade in order to embezzle money from his employer.”

He has since been detained and confessed to embezzling 8 million Lebanese pounds from the company and deliberately sought to “disappear” immediately after his crime to avoid arousing suspicions.

He was arrested in Tripoli's Abi Samra neighborhood on Monday following his “kidnapping” on Saturday.

M.T.

Y.R.