Monaco clears Mikati and family members of money laundering allegations

A Monaco investigation into caretaker PM Najib Mikati and his family has been concluded, resulting in the dismissal of all allegations and closure of the case, a press release issued by the Mikati family said.

Following a comprehensive investigation, Monaco’s Judicial Police confirmed on August 23 that there was no evidence of any wrongdoing regarding money laundering allegations made more than three years ago, the press release said.

In a letter, Monaco’s Deputy Attorney General stated that the case, which was entrusted to Monaco’s Judicial Police on July 15, 2020, had been closed.

“This development confirms that the spurious allegations and accompanying speculation were unfounded,” the press release said.

“The Mikati family was always confident that this would be the outcome as it was aware that there was no basis to these claims. The Monaco judicial decision follows a confirmation from the Princely Court of Liechtenstein that there are no pending investigations against the Mikati family in Liechtenstein and there have not been any in the past, as had been alleged by previous media reports. With a Lebanese case also recently dropped, there are no ongoing investigations, queries, or indictments against any of the Mikati family in any jurisdiction,” the press release added.

Reacting to the announcement, Mikati said: “I am delighted that this case has been closed after the European and Lebanese authorities found no evidence to support the allegations. I believe these investigations were triggered by false and politically-motivated smears. I look forward to continuing my work on behalf of the Lebanese people.”

Mount Lebanon State Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun had in October 2019 pressed charges against Mikati, his son Maher and his brother Taha for illicit enrichment. The National News Agency said Mikati and the others were charged for allegedly obtaining housing loans subsidized by the Central Bank of Lebanon.

At the time, Mikati described the accusations as a political "message" from then-president Michel Aoun.

According to reports, Mikati, the founder of holding company Miqati Group, was accused of eating up a big chunk of subsidized financing to purchase homes.

The telecoms mogul, in tandem with his brother Taha, has multiple business interests in West Africa and across the globe.

Mikati's estimated wealth is $2.5 billion, making him among the 1,000 richest people in the world.

In 2018, Lebanese media reported that Mikati and the others were accused of wrongly receiving millions of dollars in subsidized housing loans.

The loans were supposed to help low- and middle-income Lebanese buy homes.