Pandora Papers: Lebanon PM Mikati says family wealth legal

Najib Mikati says his wealth is legal after Pandora Papers leak reveals he owns an offshore firm in Panama.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s family wealth comes from a communications business that has been audited in the past and is legal, a statement from his office has said in response to a giant leak of financial documents.

Daraj, a Lebanese news organisation that reported on the Pandora Papers – a set of leaked documents purporting to reveal offshore transactions involving prominent global figures, said Mikati owned an offshore firm in Panama called Hessvile through which he bought a property in Monaco worth seven million euros ($8.1m).

Mikati’s son Maher was a director of at least two British Virgin Islands-based companies.