Lebanese magazine Al Shiraa reported that Gilbert Ramez Chagoury, a Lebanese Nigerian billionaire whose parents emigrated from north Lebanon to Nigeria where he was born and raised is financing the presidency of Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh
“Countless comments Al Shiraa received after its news report on financier Gilbert Chagoury yesterday, and we continue today to publish some facts, which were available to Al Shiraa from various sources in Lebanon and abroad, especially from abroad, including:
One hundred million dollars set aside by Gilbert Chagoury to get Franjieh to the presidency., Al Shiraa reported on Sunday
Other Lebanese websites also confirmed Al Shiraa’s report
Chagoury, who according to 2007 leaked U.S. diplomatic cables has supported Michel Aoun, Hezbollah’s key Christian ally in Lebanon is also close to Suleiman Franjieh , a pro-Damascus, pro-Hezbollah March 8 politician who calls Assad his friend and brother.
According the Ashiraa Chagoury will use the $100 to secure the votes for Franjieh’s presidential election and is reportedly trying to get the Sunni MPs to vote for him
Chagoury also according to the report has been pressuring the French Government to make sure Franjieh gets the presidency .
A minimum of 65 votes are needed to secure Franjieh’s presidential bid and $100 million will go a long way in a country where its currency lost 99% of its value
Chagoury is reportedly very close also to Speaker Nabih Berri , a key ally of Hezbollah and his wife Randa and regularly invites them to Paris where he now lives.
Chagoury according to the report owns 10 % of French company Total which will be the main oil company that will be exploring Lebanon’s oil and gas . Berri according to the report helped Total get the contract and is planning with Chagoury to build hotels in has reclaimed land near the the blocs where Total will be excavating
Such an interference is not new to Chagoury . He has been implicated in election fraud and election interference in the United States for contributing money to Congressional re-election campaigns despite American laws that prohibit foreign nationals from contributing to U.S. elections.
What do we know about Chagoury?
In 1971, he co-founded the Chagoury Group with his younger brother Ronald Chagoury an industrial conglomerate with interests in construction, real estate and property development, flour mills, water bottling and purification, glass manufacturing, insurance, hotels, furniture manufacturing, telecommunications, IT, catering and international financing. Gilbert and Ronald Chagoury founded C & C Construction in the late 1970s
Through their ownership of the Chagoury Group, Gilbert Chagoury and his family have an estimated wealth of $4.2 billion.
Chagoury was a close associate of Nigerian dictator, General Sani Abacha, who helped his business interests in the country. After Abacha died in 1998, Chagoury returned an estimated $300 million to the Nigerian government to secure his indemnity from possible criminal charges.
In 2018, Chagoury and two of his associates agreed to resolve a US federal investigation that they conspired to violate federal election laws by scheming to make illegal campaign contributions to U.S. presidential and congressional candidates,
Chagoury has been a supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton since the 1990s. He has funded their election campaigns and is a major donor to the Clinton Foundation.
He helped to organize “In Defense of Christians” (IDC) an organization which is pro-Hezbollah
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