On September 14, 2025, sources close to the investigation revealed to French-language newspaper in Lebanon, L’Orient-Le Jour, that the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (NFP) in Paris has initiated a preliminary inquiry into former Prime Minister of Lebanon and a 69-year-old billionaire telecoms tycoon, Najib Mikati.
This move comes after a complaint filed by anti-corruption groups, raising serious allegations against him.
The complaint was submitted in April 2024 by two organizations: the French NGO Sherpa and The Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon (CVFCPL). The latter is a group formed by depositors who have been protesting the illegal withholding of their assets following Lebanon’s devastating economic crisis in 2019.
They accuse Mikati, his brother Taha, and several other family members of money laundering, concealment of assets, and involvement in an organized criminal conspiracy.
According to William Bourdon, Sherpa’s lawyer and founder, the evidence presented was deemed “strong enough to meet the threshold of suspicion and justify an investigation into very serious offenses, especially money laundering.” While the investigation is still in its early stages, the allegations have already sparked considerable attention.
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Among the assets cited are luxury real estate holdings in France, including properties in Paris, the French Riviera, Monaco, and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, registered under Mikati’s name or that of his relatives.
The complaint also points to investments in the fashion house Façonnable and the possession of two yachts valued at approximately $100 million and $125 million, attributed to Najib and Taha Mikati, respectively. Additionally, there are reports of private jets in their possession.
One of the key issues raised by the plaintiffs concerns the brothers’ 2010 purchase of shares in Bank Audi. To finance their acquisition of about 11 percent of the bank’s shares, later increased to 14 percent, they reportedly received $300 million in loans from the bank itself. This transaction has drawn scrutiny because of the legal restrictions surrounding such loans.
Legal experts note that Lebanon’s Money and Credit Code (MCC) strictly regulates loans to shareholders and prohibits pledging shares bought on credit. Moreover, a circular from Banque du Liban (BDL) bans banks from lending money for the purchase of their own shares.
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However, it is alleged that the 2010 operation received special treatment from BDL, which was headed at the time by Riad Salameh. Instead of consolidating the brothers’ stakes into a single entity, BDL treated them as separate, potentially allowing Mikati and Taha to bypass regulatory limits.
A banking source involved in the share purchase process argues that the transaction was conducted “according to existing rules and laws,” claiming that BDL supervised the process in line with the MCC.
The source emphasized that this was an old case that had already been extensively covered by Lebanese media, and at the time, no suspicion of wrongdoing was raised.
This isn’t the first time the case has come under scrutiny. Before retiring, Mount Lebanon’s public prosecutor Ghada Aoun had attempted to reopen the investigation and requested legal action in Lebanon against Salameh and the Mikati brothers concerning the Bank Audi deal.
Whether the new investigation in France will lead to further legal steps remains to be seen, but the case has certainly reignited debates over transparency and accountability surrounding Lebanon’s most influential figures.
Kattie L.
Kattie L. is an accomplished analytical writer with a focus on geopolitics and international security. Her work combines in-depth research with a nuanced understanding of global strategic dynamics, offering readers clear and insightful perspectives on complex issues. She can be reached at kattieloius789@protonmail.com
