Monaco closes corruption probe against Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister for lack of evidence

BEIRUT (AP) — The office of Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says a three-year probe against him and his family over corruption allegations has been closed by Monaco’s judicial authorities for lack of evidence. Mikati’s office said in a statement on Friday that Morgan Raymond, the deputy public prosecutor in Monaco, told the prime minister’s legal team that they have closed the investigation into the case raised by unspecified Lebanese plaintiffs on allegations of illicit enrichment and money laundering. Leaked documents in 2021 showed that Mikati has owned a Panama-based offshore company since the 1990s. He used it in 2008 to buy property in Monaco worth more than $10 million.