Salloum persecuted again in Road Traffic Authority corruption file

From mid-October 2022 to mid-January 2023, two months during which the majority of beneficiaries, including managers, heads of departments, employees, and transaction handlers, were arrested on charges of taking bribes, forgery, and illegal enrichment.

Two months full of scandals that do not seem to be over yet.

However, the director general of the road traffic department, Hoda Salloum, was arrested in the file of the beneficiary, along with the head of the Vehicle Registration Authority, Ayman Abdel Ghafour.

However, Ayman Abdel Ghafour, the head of the Vehicle Registration Authority, and Hoda Salloum, the director general of the road traffic department, were both arrested in the file of bribes and beneficiaries.

According to sources familiar with the investigations conducted by the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces, LBCI learned that the arrested transaction handler, Michael Nassour, admitted in a new statement that he was periodically obtaining from Abdel Ghafour and through the latter's arrested secretary, Sandra Al-Ra'i, packages of car sale bills to sell them.

Moreover, each package consisted of 250 checks, and the price Nassour collected from those who followed the transactions was LBP 100 million for each package.

According to the same sources, Nassour confirmed that he was distributing the LBP 100 million in the following method:

- LBP 30 million to Abdel Ghafour, which Nassour used to hand over to his secretary.
- LBP 60 million sent by Nassour to Salloum with one of her close people, the arrested transaction tracker, Naji Barhoun.
- LBP 10 million shared by Nassour with the secretary of Abdel Ghafour.

However, Judge Al-Khatib could not give any indication of arresting those involved because of the response lawsuit against her by Abdel Ghafour before the Court of Appeal, which has not yet been decided. And, because of the state's litigation lawsuit filed by Salloum against her before the General Authority of the Court of Cassation, the Information Division contacted the public prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, and the latter was the one who gave a signal to arrest Salloum and Barhoun.

The file was then referred to the first investigating judge in Mount Lebanon.

Simultaneously, Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Ghada Aoun charged both Salloum and Barhoun with bribery and the crime of illicit enrichment.

However, Salloum was pursued with two files, one file that Judge Al-Khatib arrested her and another file that sent her arrest warrant from Judge Oweidat based on investigations carried out by members of the Information Division.