Corruption in Lebanon (Arabic:الفساد في لبنان) has been a severe and persistent problem since the end of the civil war in 1990. It has been described as a case of "post-conflict corruption."[1] Once a taboo subject, it is now at the forefront of the public debate inLebanon.[2] Anti-corruption sentiment has been one of the driving forces behind many of the large-scale Lebanese protests in recent history.
Transparency International's 2024Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), gave Lebanon a score of 22, its lowest score ever. When ranked by score, Lebanon ranked 154th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[3] For comparison with regional scores, the average score among Middle Eastern and North African countries[Note 1] was 39. The best score among Middle Eastern and North African countries was 68 and the worst score was 12).[4] For comparison with worldwide scores, the average score was 43, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).[5]
According to Charles Adwan, Director of theLebanese Transparency Association, "the extension of wartime elites into the post-war political system, a common feature inpost-conflict countries [fr], resulted in a system which removed allchecks and balances and facilitated the diversion of state resources for private financial and political gain".[1] Government officials reportedly often award contracts to friends and family, leading to many of the country's problems, like daily power cuts. Many working-class Lebanese citizens rely on economic assistance from their party, which stops them from speaking up against the system or bringing them to justice, despite widespread opposition.[6][7]Lebanon's government works within the framework ofconfessionalism, with parliamentary seats and other government positions allocated by religious confession. Many members of government have been in power since theLebanese Civil War, with mere shuffling of positions every election cycle. Many blame this system for the country's continued corruption.
Corruption happens on every level of society and is not strictly limited to high-level officials. As in many neighboring countries, using what is locally known aswasta or personal family and party connections to get favors like skipping a long queue, getting into a selective institution, or finding a job is common practice and has become the social norm. Although many believe that usingwasta is understandable for each individual case, as institutions are often inefficient without it, it is also agreed upon that the social phenomenon deepens economic inequality.[8]
Anti-corruption sentiment has been one of the driving forces behind many of the large-scale Lebanese protests in recent history. Notably, the2015–2016 Lebanese protests sparked by the closure of a waste dump without a plan, which triggered a "garbage crisis"[9] and the2019–2020 Lebanese protests sparked by an increase in taxes[10][11]
Many anti-system parties run on anti-corruption platforms, most notablyBeirut Madinati, which ran during the2016 Beirut municipal election.[12] Although the party lost, it gained unprecedented traction for anoutsider party in Lebanon's otherwise rigid political status quo.[13] With 40% of the votes, it forced theMarch 14 Alliance and theMarch 8 Alliance, historical opponents, to form a coalition in order to win[14]
In July 2020, Lebanese company ZR Energy was indicted, as it had imported contaminated fuel from Algerian companySonatrach, which cost $2bn worth of fuel deliveries per year.[15][16][17]
On 4 August 2020, anexplosion at the port of Beirut killed at least 190 people, injured more than 6,500, and left around 300,000 people homeless, as well as costing an estimated $15bn in damages.[18] The blast was caused by 2,750 tons ofammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely in a warehouse.[19] Many attribute the explosion to government negligence and corruption, and among its results were the eruption of protests all over Lebanon and the resignation of the entire cabinet, with the government remaining in acaretaker capacity.[20] Domestic investigations into the explosion have been repeatedly delayed, obstructed and blocked byHezbollah leaders, by threatening the presiding judge and orchestrating political manipulations.[20][21][22][23] The two main foci of the investigation wereAli Hassan Khalil, a former finance minister, andGhazi Zaiter, a former public works minister, both belonging to theAmal movement, strongly allied with Hezbollah.[24] Senior officials refused to show up for the investigation, and four years after the explosion, there were still no arrests made.[25]
There are someNGO's fighting corruption in Lebanon:[26]
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