BEIRUT: Hizbullah in association with the Telecommunications Ministry helped locate bankrupt businessman Salah Ezzedine in his hideout in the Beirut southern suburbs, well-informed judicial sources told The Central News Agency (CNA) on Friday. According to the judicial sources quoted by the CNA, Hizbullah carried out “a quick raid” of his hideout, “questioned him and later handed him to judicial authorities.
Earlier reports had mentioned that Ezzedine gave himself up to authorities.
The sources added that one of Ezzedine’s associates, a businessman only identified as “Youssef F” had been recently arrested by the judiciary.
Ezzedine, a wealthy businessman from the town of Maaroub near the southern port city of Tyre, is a prominent financier particularly among Shiite circles in Lebanon. He is the owner of Dar Al-Hadi Publishing House – one of Lebanon’s most prominent publishers of religious Shiite books that also prints books written by Hizbullah officials – and Al-Hadi TV for children.
As-Safir newspaper reported on that Ezzedine’s publishing house Dar al-Hadi was shut down on Thursday based on a court order to close down some of Ezzedine’s enterprises. More than 250 employees lost their jobs overnight as a result of the court’s decision.
The judicial officials said Ezzedine had major business interests, particularly in oil and iron industries, in Eastern Europe and suffered substantial losses when oil prices dropped starting mid last year.
He tried to make up for his losses by taking money from Lebanese investors, promising up to 40 percent interest which he could not repay, the officials said on condition of anonymity.
Many Muslims consider interest paid by banks as un-Islamic and therefore prefer to invest their money in businesses such as the ones run by Ezzeddine.
Media reports said that those who invested with Ezzedine includd high-ranking members of Hizbullah, as well as Shiite investors
from south Lebanon and the Hizbullah stronghold south of Beirut.
Former Hizbullah MP Amin Sherry denied any links to Ezzedine in a statement released on Friday.
Earlier Friday, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel had reported that Sherry, along with the head of Hizbullah’s parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad and the party’s politburo member Wafiq Safa, were among those who invested their money with Ezzedine.
As-Safir newspaper also interviewed a relative of Ezzedine who inistsed that his kin was not the only person implicated in the bankruptcy case. “He is one of five associates,” he said, adding that one of them had fled the country.
Judicial sources told the CNA that one of Ezzedine’s relatives “stands behind or knows the true reasons behind the bankruptcy.”
The bankruptcy case made headlines earlier this week as Ezzedine gave himself up to authorities after declaring himself bankrupt. The officials said he was then taken into custody and was investigated for possible crimes including “the fraud of large amounts of money.” – The Daily Star
