Corruption probe: Lebanese ex-economy minister Amin Salam banned from travel over extortion and misuse of funds — the details

Lebanese judge Jamal Al-Hajjar issued a decision preventing former Economy Minister Amin Salam from traveling following the discovery of corruption files during his tenure. 

The suspicions first emerged in November 2023 after an investigation into the alleged extortion of insurance companies. Salam's brother, Karim Salam, was accused of threatening to revoke the license of Al Mashreq Insurance unless the company paid significant sums for mandatory studies through a firm owned by the minister’s advisor, Fadi Tamim. 

The amount demanded reached up to $300,000.

Further investigations revealed that Amin Salam misused funds from the supervisory committee for insurance institutions to cover office and personal expenses, amounting to $70,000 per month. 

In addition, he entered into a suspicious contract with a Malaysian company for a $640,000 training program that lasted just two weeks.

These and other troubling revelations led the Economic Committee to summon the former minister for questioning. However, Salam failed to attend the session, amid growing doubts about his management of the ministry over a period of more than three years.