Land Registry reopens: Reversal of decision amid corruption allegations

Finally, logic and the law have prevailed over corruption and lawlessness.

After Finance Minister Youssef Khalil invited all employees of the Land Registry Departments in Mount Lebanon to return to work with the aim of reopening them after a year-long closure due to the judiciary investigating corruption, including employees facing arrest warrants and those in hiding who are accused of corruption, bribery, and illicit enrichment, the Minister himself has reconsidered his decision following the media uproar.

According to LBCI, he has reinstated approximately 55 employees from the General Directorate of Finance to the General Directorate of Real Estate Affairs for this purpose.

The Finance Minister distributed these employees among the six Land Registry Departments in Jbeil, Keserwan, Metn, Baabda, Aley, and Chouf to manage citizens' affairs. These employees will be assisted in their tasks by the 32 employees who were previously suspended in the corruption case and released and whom the Civil Service Council allowed to return to their positions until final judicial decisions are made regarding their cases, in contrast to the 81 employees deemed by the Council as illegally reinstated.

The General Directorate of Real Estate Affairs has begun training the 55 employees, with sources anticipating the completion of their training by the end of next week.

After Christmas and New Year's holidays, the real estate departments in Mount Lebanon are expected to reopen.

Sources reported that in the initial phase, the reopening will focus on processing the pending transactions of citizens since the closure a year ago. Afterward, the Land Registry Departments will receive new transactions once the backlog is cleared.