Mikati denies interfering to prevent Stephanie Saliba's arrest

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday denied a media report claiming that he had mediated with security agencies to prevent the arrest of the actress Stephanie Saliba at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.

“What al-Akhbar newspaper has reported about an interference by PM Mikati in a file related to Ms. Stephanie Saliba is totally baseless,” Mikati’s press office said in a statement.

The daily had reported that Mt. Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun had issued a search and investigation warrant against Saliba “based on Lebanese and European investigations into the embezzlement, money laundering and theft file in which Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is accused.”

“The warrant was circulated to security agencies, but political interferences at a high level, especially by caretaker PM Najib Mikati, prevented Saliba’s arrest upon her arrival today to Beirut’s airport,” the newspaper said.