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It is a story that reaches halfway around the world. The two main players are Saeb Salaam, formerly the prime minister of Lebanon, and Khodr Saab, a Lebanese immigrant who figured prominently in the southern California real estate development market. The men had been friends for many years, and Salaam had invested over a million dollars in Saab’s business dealings.
Then in the early 1990’s, the bottom began to fall out of real estate and Saab’s fortune began to dwindle. The concerned Salaam demanded repayment and obtained a judgment. Saab struck back by filing for bankruptcy protection, which was granted.
Salaam, though living in Geneva, still maintained a great deal of power in his native Lebanon. Angered by the perceived ability of Saab to skip out on his debts with the apparent blessing of the US court system, Salaam determined to get back at Saab. He learned that Saab was planning a visit with his aging father in Lebanon. Salaam arranged to have Saab arrested upon his arrival and charged with crimes emanating from the business dealings in the United States. Saab was taken to prison, where he remains, awaiting his trial. He is charged with falsifying his US bankruptcy and hiding his true assets from Salaam. If convicted, Saab faces a seven-year sentence.
The situation is causing additional strain to the already precarious relationship between the US and Lebanon. The two countries abide by different sets of legal standards and the two systems of justice bear no resemblance to one another.
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