French authorities probe Mikati clan’s billions amid corruption allegations

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati is facing a preliminary investigation by France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) following a complaint from anti-corruption groups Sherpa and the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent Practices in Lebanon (CVPFL).

The complaints, filed in 2024 and later supplemented, allege money laundering, concealment, and organized criminal association involving Mikati, his brother Taha, and several family members. The groups claim that the Mikati family amassed significant assets in France and abroad through questionable means, sometimes with the help of intermediaries.

According to documents reviewed by L’Orient-Le Jour, assets under scrutiny include luxury properties in Paris, the Côte d’Azur, Monaco, and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, two private jets, two yachts worth over $200 million, and investments such as fashion brand Façonnable. The family’s 2010 acquisition of a major stake in Bank Audi—allegedly financed by $300 million in loans from the bank itself—has also raised red flags.

Sherpa’s founder, William Bourdon, said the evidence provided was sufficient to trigger an inquiry into “grave offenses, particularly money laundering.”

Broader suspicions relate to the origins of the Mikati family fortune, including telecom contracts in Lebanon during the 1990s under Syrian occupation. Companies linked to Mikati were accused of under-reporting revenues, depriving the Lebanese treasury of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mikati has consistently rejected the allegations, insisting that his wealth is legitimate and that he has “always acted in full compliance with the law.”