Officials Trade Blame on Red Diesel Scandal through Separate Probes

An Audit Bureau report on the red diesel scandal will likely lay blame on certain people as rival ministries have launched their own investigations to trade accusations.

The head of the Bureau, Judge Aouni Ramadan, told As Safir daily published Thursday that the probe carried out by the prosecutor’s office has reached a conclusion that certain people were suspected to be aware of the scandal.

Their names have been mentioned in the report, he said, but stressed that the prosecution bases its investigation on “suspicion” while a specialized chamber in the Bureau is studying the report on the basis of “certainty.”

The acting general prosecutor, Judge Bassam Wehbe, said on Feb. 10 that the names of persons who took part in the sale of millions of liters of red diesel to distribution companies the last hours before the end of a one-month government subsidy will be released within two days.

But Ramadan justified the failure to do so, by saying the specialized chamber needs time to issue its verdicts after it questions the suspects.

The scandal erupted after complaints that huge amounts of red diesel were sold to oil distribution companies by the Deir Ammar refinery in northern Lebanon on January 18 - the last day of the government subsidy of LL3,000 per jerry can.

The oil companies have reportedly made millions of dollars in profits after selling an alleged 8 million liters at a nonsubsidized price.

According to As Safir, Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, who has been accused by the opposition of being involved in the scandal, has tasked an investigation committee with probing the distribution of red diesel during subsidized and non-subsidized periods since 2004.

Bassil told the newspaper that he also “wants to know what happened with the subsidized red diesel this year and who benefited from it.”

He stressed that he wants to know how the distribution of the household heating fuel had been made since 2004, saying subsidization is not new and “the squandering that took place this time has happened several times in the past.”

Bassil vowed to prove that “a lot of people except for the Change and Reform bloc” were involved in the scandal.

He was referring to governments led by al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora and the party’s chief Saad Hariri, who are now part of the opposition led by the March 14 coalition.

Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas, who is loyal to Premier Najib Miqati, also launched an investigation into the case after reports said several employees at the oil refineries and the consumer protection authority that is linked to the ministry would be accused of “dereliction.”

Nahhas expected the investigation report of his ministry to be completed within two days, saying “we are carrying out an accurate and detailed” probe.

The report will mention how the red diesel is being sold, to whom it is being delivered and the way it is being distributed, he told As Safir.

Nahhas stressed that the ministry’s consumer protection authority used to receive complaints in the past from the energy ministry “but this time we haven’t received any.”

Bassil, who is loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, represents the Change and Reform bloc in the cabinet while Nahhas is loyal to Miqati.

Both sides are likely pointing their fingers at each other in the red diesel scandal after rising tension between them over accusations by Miqati that the ministers loyal to Aoun are hindering the cabinet’s work.

Cabinet sessions have been suspended and the PM is insisting that he would call for new meetings only if the ministers agree to make the government’s work productive.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary finance and budget committee that was scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss the investigations into the scandal, postponed its meeting to next Monday, its head Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan said.

He told As Safir that the postponement came after several ministries and bureaus involved in the case, except for the energy ministry, failed to send their reports to the committee.

Kanaan laid blame on “the government and all those who backed seasonal subsidies,” a move that Bassil has objected to.

He said the subsidy encourages companies and traders to stockpile the fuel without allowing the consumer protection authority to monitor the market and pursue those who monopolize the sale of red diesel.

But the head of the parliamentary energy committee, MP Mohammed Qabbani, who is a member of the opposition al-Mustaqbal bloc, expressed his fears that the authorities would end up holding accountable a few employees without prosecuting their backers.

The millions of dollars of gains couldn’t have been made without the cover or collaboration of the real decision makers in the oil refineries and their backers, he said.

Qabbani warned that he would divulge all the information he has on the companies that benefited from the sale of the red diesel if the authorities made an attempt to cover-up the case.