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The terrible explosion that occurred on August 4 in the port of Beirut shed light on this vital facility, which is a microcosm of Lebanese state institutions in terms of rampant corruption, favoritism, bribery, and the influence of political forces on it.
In the port of Beirut, smuggling, tax evasion, kickbacks, tenders, questionable public auctions, and fictitious salaries benefit high-level employees affiliated with the political forces.
However, there is also a quick “line” for Hezbollah, which allows it to approve whatever it wants without being monitored or held accountable, as well as agreements that benefit officials and employees affiliated with various political forces that a large part of the Lebanese have demanded. your departure.
Protesters demand accountability for those involved in the bomb attack in the port of Beirut (Archives – France Press)
“The most corrupt installation”
In this context, researcher Muhammad Shams al-Din from the International Information Center, who has published several studies on corruption and tax evasion in Lebanon, told AFP: “The port is one of the most corrupt facilities,” adding : “There is no effective control by the government over him, neither in collecting or spending money.”
The port of Beirut was established in 1894 and was managed by a French company, then a private company since 1960.
But in the early 1990s, with the end of the company’s concession, a temporary official committee was appointed to manage it and it is still in operation today. Shams El Din says it operates as if it were a “private company.” .
Port of Beirut (Archives – France Press)
As in all state institutions, the members of the committee are chosen according to their sectarian affiliation: a Sunni president, six members representing the main sects and the privileged ones are supported by the most prominent political parties.
“The same quota system in the state applies to the port,” says Shams El Din.
‘Military line’
In addition, Hezbollah uses the port to move goods for itself or for the benefit of businessmen affiliated with it, according to various sources.
In this context, the former head of the State Council, Judge Shukri Sader, told France Presse: “It is known that there are Hezbollah assets that pass through the port and the airport, in addition to the border crossings.
He added that “both the port and the airport have a military line through which goods and merchandise pass without inspection or surveillance,” explaining, “this line is the result of an implicit agreement with the authorities, that no one approaches it. “.
A protester in Lebanon calls for an account of those involved in the Beirut port bombing who carry a rope (Archive – France Press)
It should be noted that in 2019, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on a prominent Hezbollah official, Wafiq Safa, for exploiting “Lebanese ports and border crossings for smuggling and facilitating travel on behalf of Hezbollah,” according to a statement from the US embassy at the time.
The statement cited one example by saying: “Hezbollah has used Safa to facilitate the passage of materials, including illegal drugs and weapons, through the Beirut port in Lebanon.”
After the explosion, which killed more than 190 people and injured more than 6,500, some spoke of weapons and other illegal materials stored by Hezbollah in the port, but Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah denied any link to it. his party with the port of Beirut.
Favoritism and bribery
The “business” in the port is not limited to Hezbollah. A report prepared by a security apparatus a few months ago and whose copy was seen by Agence France-Presse, named by name at least five employees of the customs detachment in the merchandise inspection department, “it is forbidden to replace them”, according to what it says.
He also detailed his affiliation with officials affiliated with the political forces (the Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah, the Amal Movement headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces Party).
From the port of Beirut (Archives – France Press)
In addition, the report detailed how they and other port employees received bribes in exchange for transactions to remove the goods from the port.
But experts have not decided whether this illegal proceeds directly benefit the parties or only the employees affiliated with them.
The temporary port management committee was headed by Hassan Quraitem, affiliated with the Future Movement, since 2002 before being detained along with 24 other people, including Director General of Customs Badri Daher, affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement, as part of the investigation. ongoing on the explosion resulting, according to the authorities, from a fire that broke out in the Khaznat warehouse Contains 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate for more than six years, without protective measures.
In front of the port of Beirut (Archives – France Press)
While port officials, regardless of their positions, and political, judicial and security officials, were aware of the seriousness of this storage, no steps were taken to prevent the disaster.
Smuggling and smuggling … and corruption scandals
Until the explosion, Lebanon had relied for most of its commercial operations on the port through which more than 70 percent of imported goods pass into a country that relies primarily on imports.
The annual revenue of the port administration is around $ 220 million, of which only $ 60 million goes to the state treasury, according to Shams al-Din, who explains that the rest is supposed to go to wages and salaries and to develop a port. , “but we don’t really know where it is going.”
As for customs, annual customs evasion, mostly from the port, is estimated at between one and two billion dollars in a country in which the budget deficit during the last two years has ranged from five to more than six thousand millions of dollars.
In front of the port of Beirut (Archives – France Press)
Over the years, corruption scandals were publicized several times, and soon his files were returned to drawers, with no one being held accountable.
According to Shams al-Din, the country’s leading political forces are using their influence to hire people affiliated with them in the port or to appoint officials to turn a blind eye to smuggling and customs smuggling operations of businessmen who support this or that party, or to influence the contracts of many companies with the port administration. The assignment of the works is done by mutual agreement and everyone benefits. “
Fictitious charities
Shams El Din also indicated that smuggling operations are carried out most of the time “through bogus charities that obtain a decree from the government that exempts them from customs duties … as long as everyone knows the truth of the matter.”
In addition, the security report indicated that the employees of the port, from the youngest to the oldest, and the members of the security services who also work in it, receive bribes that vary according to the goods that speed up their passage, reduce their rates traffic, or turn a blind eye to them.
Hanging photos of Berri and Nasrallah on the gallows
For example, according to the report, the head of each division that oversees the main entrance to the port would charge two hundred thousand pounds for a used car to facilitate their exit. Others in customs also receive their share of the used car, and their task is to reduce its value in the appraisal process, thus reducing the cost of the tax on it.
Smuggling of weapons and drugs
As for what’s more dangerous than that, it’s “smuggling,” like guns and drugs, for example, which are sometimes smuggled into used cars, according to the report.
The irony is that the only X-ray detector in the port, the “scanner”, is broken.
In the context, a customs source, who declined to be identified, told France Presse: “The scanner has been out of operation since April 2019 due to a technical failure”, noting that “it is too old and the cost of repair and replacement of parts exceeds its price. “
Hezbollah
However, the port administration did not change him due to a dispute within the government over his contract.
And stopping the “scanner” means that inspections are carried out only manually, making violations easy. Duty payments and goods issue are still done on paper and manually.
Faced with this complex reality and deep-rooted corruption, many question the ability of the investigation carried out by the Lebanese State to reach the truth on the issue of the explosion due to the lack of trust in institutions of all kinds.
Commenting on this point, Sader said: “It is not just in the port, but all the corruption in Lebanon no longer needs proof.” He also added: “No matter how good the investigating judge is, and he is, how can we believe in an investigation that depends on the security services and who governs them” from the political forces?
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