French investigators have opened a corruption inquiry into former Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati, lawyers who made the formal complaint said Sunday.
Mikati, a 69-year-old billionaire telecoms tycoon, was prime minister until January this year. He was also premier between 2011 and 2014.
The Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon and the anti-corruption group Sherpa, which announced the inquiry, first made a complaint against Mikati in 2024.
The groups accused Mikati and his brother, Taha Mikati, of fraudulently building up their fortune.
The National Financial Prosecutor’s office did not immediately comment on the claim of a formal inquiry. But the Mikati family indirectly confirmed the investigation in a statement that rejected the charges.
“The origin of the Mikati family patrimony is clear, legal and transparent,” said the statement.
“We have full trust in the independence and rigour of French justice and are ready to provide any complementary information requested.”
The lawyers’ groups had already sought action against the former head of Lebanon’s Central Bank, Riad Salameh, who has been jailed in Lebanon for a year. Salameh is now wanted on fraud and corruption charges by French authorities while his brother, Raja Salameh, has been formally charged in France.
Lebanon has been in the grip of a devastating financial and economic crisis since 2019, largely blamed on decades of endemic corruption and gross mismanagement of public funds.