Lebanese Lawyer Majd Harb filed a lawsuit against Hezbollah to the Financial Public Prosecution in Lebanon according to Al–Hadeel.
This lawsuit, which is the first against the party, accuses Hezbollah of tax and customs evasion and money laundering.
The lawyer told Al-Hadath channel that Hezbollah’s actions are “depriving the Lebanese State of hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Harb proceeded to explain that the party never denied the allegations that its annual budget amounts to one billion dollars. “The Lebanese state has seen no tax paid by Hezbollah in that regard,” the lawyer revealed.
According to the same source, “Studies indicate that the amount of tax evasion in Lebanon is approximately five billion dollars annually. Many companies, individuals, and even associations, including Hezbollah, violate tax laws.”
Lawyer Majd Harb asserted that the Secretary-General of the party, Hassan Nesrallah, acknowledged on many occasions that his employees receive monthly pensions.
“This must be taxed as part of taxes on salaries. Income tax must also be paid by employees,” Harb pointed out.
The secretary-General as well as other officials have also acknowledged that the party benefits from financial aid. This aid also includes weapons and equipment provided by Iran.
“How do these donations make it to Lebanon?” Harb asked, and went on to explain that “any profit made of these practices, which in turn get invested, is considered money laundering.”
The lawsuit did not include the illegitimacy of the party’s weapons. He stressed that raising the issue of legal violations related to possession and use of illegal weapons would be of no use now “because of the ruling authority’s coverage of it and its existence.”
By resorting to the judiciary, far from political rivalries, as he pointed out, the lawyer and his team are ‘demanding the investigation of the lawsuit’s content against the violators.’
The lawsuit, a first of its kind in Lebanon, is formally asking the judiciary “to take the necessary legal measures that preserve the material rights of the state, and that secure financial revenues to the state and the people who desperately need it, and to compel the party to pay the resulting fines and taxes.”
It is to point out here that there have been several legal actions in Lebanon, based on illegality, and that are not as crucial to Lebanon’s crises as this lawsuit.
These include the eviction of four families from their homes in the middle of the night, and arrests of protesters and outspoken activists for expressing their pain and opinions; adding to the grave accusations by Hezbollah against a prominent religious authority
Meanwhile, based on illegality, the smuggling of essentials to Syria continues in the open.
