BEIRUT: Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said Saturday that it had arrested the owner of Desert Petroleum, a company providing government institutions with fuel oil, accusing the firm of defrauding the state.
The ISF said the company had contracted with several public institutions, including the security agency itself and the state-owned Rafik Hariri University Hospital. The company, based in the Beirut suburb of Jnah, is accused of manipulating the quantity of petroleum products including fuel and issuing fraudulent invoices.
The ISF claimed that public sector employees were involved in the fraud.
Although the ISF did not reveal the name of the owner, the company’s website said it was established and owned by Ali Halloum.
"This [crime] represented accumulated years of theft and embezzlement of public money,” the ISF said in a statement.
After informing the Health Ministry and the judiciary of the company's illegal actions, police in Beirut's southern suburbs launched a preliminary investigation, raided the institution’s headquarters and arrested the owner as well as a number of employees and civil servants.
Police officers also confiscated several fuel-transporting tankers with fake license plates. The statement said the tankers contained secret storage areas and manipulated meters.
Investigations are still ongoing under the supervision of the financial prosecutor's office.
On Friday, Health Minister Wael Abu Faour filed a complaint with the financial prosecutor against the petroleum company, accusing it manipulating prices and quantity of fuel provided to the public hospital.
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