A cabinet meeting led by President Michel Aoun has decided to maintain fuel supply contract with Sonatrach Petroleum (SPC), a subsidiary of Algeria’s state-run oil company, that is currently embroiled in supply of low quality fuel and corruption scandal, reports say.
The Lebanese leader however stressed that investigations launched into the alleged corruption and supply charges should continue in view of reaching concreate findings.
“The public opinion expects concreate actions on the matter,” Aoun was quoted as saying.
A prosecutor at a court this month ordered the arrest of Tarek Faoual, head of the Sonatrach subsidiary after the company was accused by the Middle East country’s Electricity of Lebanon (EDL) of supplying two shipments of the adulterated foil.
The case has become a diplomatic thorny issue between the two countries, TSA reports.
Raymond Ghajar, the Lebanese minister of energy and water met Monday with Algeria’s ambassador to Lebanon to discuss the matter.
Sonatrach has denied the charges. The presidency of the North African country last week said that the Algerian state is not involved in the scandal and that the case is an internal Lebanese affair.
However, the President, according to his office, instructed justice minister to launch a probe into the case after it was revealed that a dozen of Algerian officials have offshore bank accounts in connection with the contract, which was signed in 2005.
