Judge Oueidat refers case of Bahij Abou Hamza to Investigative Judge of Beirut

Beirut Examining Judge Ghassan Oueidat received Tuesday the report of the preliminary investigations conducted by the Central Criminal Investigations Department with Bahij Abou Hamza, arrested on charges of fraud and embezzlement of funds.

Judge Oueidat then referred the file to the Investigative Judge of Beirut Sami Sedki , who will pursue the investigations.

In December 2013, Jumblatt’s lawyers, Walid Sfeir and Hussam Rasbey, filed two lawsuits against Bahij Abou Hamza before Judge Oueidat, one of which focuses on a matter related to land dispute.  

Abou Hamza is a leading businessman who at one point held close relations with Jumblatt. He once ran the PSP chief’s real estate deeds and managed Jumblatt's private properties. Abou Hamza was also the former head of the Association of Oil Importing Companies.  

But the relations between the two men have cooled significantly in recent months, when MP Jumblatt relieved Abou Hamza of his duties after almost 30 years of service.  

In one of the lawsuits filed by Jumblatt, he accuses Abou Hamza and Hussein Bdeir, a Shiite businessman, of selling him a piece of land that did not actually exist, sources reported.  

The PSP leader said he was the victim of “organized fraud,” and accused Abou Hamza and Bdeir of taking advantage of the fact that he was busy with politics and social obligations in order to dupe him.