Sonatrach Fuel Oil Case: Mount Lebanon Court Continues Investigation

Appellate Public Prosecutor of Mount Lebanon Court, Judge Ghada Aoun, asked for the prosecution order from the Minister of Energy and Water, Raymond Ghajar, against the Director-General at the Ministry of Oil, Auror Al-Feghali, and the head of oil installations, Sarkis Halis, because they were absent from the hearing in the fraudulent fuel oil case that was imported by the company of Sonatrach, despite notifying them of the date of interrogation by legal means.

In a related context, the Public Prosecutor issued a search and investigation report against both the owner of the company “ZRenergy” Teddy Zeina Rahmeh and the company’s CEO, Ibrahim Zaouk, due to their absence from the hearing, as this company is in charge of transferring “fuel oil” to the benefit of Sonatrach from Malta.

These measures come within the framework of an open investigation in the case of “fraudulent fuel oil” and suspicions of bribery that pursue senior officials in Lebanon regarding the “fuel oil” shipments that are imported from “Sonatrach” company under a contract between the Algerian and Lebanese government since 2005, when it was discovered the existence of Shipment that are not in conformity with standards since March 2020.

Although Sonatrach is responsible for replacing it, investigations into the file are still ongoing, which has resulted in 17 suspects who have not yet been identified and who have been temporarily imprisoned since last Saturday, including the director of Sonatrach in Lebanon and several employees of the oil installations there.

It is worth noting that the London branch of the company issued a statement in which it did not deny the existence of a legal dispute before a Lebanese court, but asserted that the accused who are placed in jail are not affiliated with the company.