On Saturday, LBCI News published a news report accusing Claudine Aoun, daughter of President Michel Aoun, of owning a marketing company that has contracts with multiple entities in the government, implying that she is getting paid without doing any particular work.
Claudine Aoun is the founder and CEO of Clementine SAL, a marketing and media corporation that offers services in the main fields of modern communications, such as advertising, creative services, graphic design, media planning, and productions.
According to LBCI, the agency works for or has contracts with almost all the entities in the Lebanese government.
That includes, but reportedly not limited to, the Ministries of Energy, Foreign Affairs, Education, Communications, and Tourism, as well as the Army Intelligence, the Lebanese National Museum, and the list goes on.
Her company also handles the state-run National Commission for Lebanese Women where Claudine herself works as the President of the committee, which normally falls under the policy of conflict of interest.
Shockingly, almost all the government entities work with Clementine SAL.
Claudine Aoun is a member of the Party Constitution Board of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the party founded by her father and led by her brother-in-law Gebran Bassil.
She’s also the Senior Political Consultant and Cabinet Director for the president, her father.
According to LBCI, this makes her a major example of a person with elite power who abuses the privilege for their own benefit.
After the report was published to the public, Claudine Aoun threatened to sue the news agency if it doesn’t apologize to her, taking to her Twitter account to denounce what she deemed slanderous accusations from LBCI.
“My beloveds, the public knows completely who I am. For years, I worked with all transparency and ethics in public and private affairs. I ask from LBC to apologize for their evening newscast,” she wrote, without yet denying that her company caters to all these government entities.
“In the event that the LBC decides not to apologize, we will definitely go to the Lebanese judiciary. Then, I hope that all media outlets follow up with the public sessions to show the truth,” Claudine added.
“There are those who have a “political agenda” against me, even those closest to me. However, they now know that we know who they are…,” Claudine stated without naming who from her circle is or are allegedly targeting her.
Interestingly enough, her statement brings to mind a similar claim made by Gebran Bassil, of someone from his circle betraying him, when he got accused of corruption by the US sanctions. He also claimed to know exactly who and that “he knows that I know who he is.”
It can’t but bring to question if the FPM is experiencing desertions of members or shifts in loyalties. It does appear the party is not as popular as it used to be.
This new report against Claudine Aoun brings two family members of President Michel Aoun under the unfavorable spotlight of corruption claims.
The Lebanese president has previously pledged during a televised interview that if there is any incident of corruption involving any of his family members, he will deal with them just like any other person.
LBCI is now calling on President Michel Aoun to act on his word and deal with his daughter accordingly.
Yet, up until now, no comment or action has been made by the Lebanese Presidency.
Editor’s note 09/`12/2020: The961 reached out to Claudine Aoun for her comment but was informed by her office that she isn’t talking to the media for time being.
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