Financial Prosecutor Mulling to Summon Aridi, Safadi over Violations
Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim is expected to summon caretaker Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi and caretaker Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi to question them over allegations of corruption, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.
Ibrahim has already asked the authorities to provide him with the text of a news conference made by Aridi and several TV interviews of Safadi.
The investigation launched by the financial prosecutor could lead to the questioning of several officials in both ministries, An Nahar said.
Aridi accused Safadi during a press conference on Monday of withholding funds from his ministry for road maintenance in an effort to pressure him into approving a construction violation by the finance minister.
But Safadi swiftly denied the allegations in remarks to several local TV stations. He accused Aridi of launching a political campaign against him.
Aridi held the conference after following severe criticism after roads flooded from rainwater.
The war of words between the two was the topic of discussion by parliament's public works ministry.
An Nahar said that the head of the committee, MP Mohammed Qabbani, is expected on Wednesday to discuss with the head of the Central Inspection Board, George Awad, the engineering part of the case.
Qabbani told An Nahar that the director-general of the presidency and the army leadership had pressured the Council for Development and Construction not to remove many of the violations committed near rivers for political reasons.
The daily said consultations held on the sidelines of the committee meeting led to the conclusion that the exchange of accusations were the result of a license that Aridi had received to operate a port near Beirut's al-Manara area but was obstructing the approval of a similar license for Safadi to operate a port in Jbeil.
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