However, it is worth noting that Oueidat divided the file and referred it to 3 entities: the Financial Prosecutor's Office (Judge Ali Ibrahim), the Appellate Court of Beirut Public Prosecutor (Ziad Abu Haidar), and the Special Investigation Authority (BDL acting Governor Wassim Mansouri).
The concerned sources stated that "Oueidat could have handed over the file to a single judge known for his neutrality, seriousness, and independence."
He could have quickly returned the file to Judge Jean Tannous, who had previously initiated the investigations after his vacation ended and his requested year of rest was near.
Furthermore, Tannous's investigations were the cornerstone upon which European investigators built many accusatory files against Riad Salameh and individuals involved with him, such as his brother Raja, Marianne Howayek, and his friend in Paris, Anna Kozakova.
Oueidat mentioned this in the statement he issued Tuesday, indicating that he was prepared to build upon the existing investigations and continue them. However, it appears that deliberate interventions led to the confusion of the file and its insertion into various complexities.
The same sources also pointed out that the entities identified by Aouidat "have previously fallen short in this file and other related financial and banking matters, and have not put in sufficient effort to believe that they will lead it to the justice."
The sources also added: "What Oueidat did, after interventions, aims to engage in investigations with at least ten entities, involving hundreds of employees. It is incumbent upon these entities to coordinate and cooperate to ensure smooth progress in the same direction."
"However, if investigations are hindered in one or the other entity, the overall judicial process faces obstruction or delay. If it ever does, this matter could take years before reaching the desired goal! But it seems that there are those working in secrecy who do not want it to reach where it should.," the sources explained.
The sources then asked: "Is the intention to confuse matters and consider what has been achieved in the Salameh file judicially up to this date as insufficient, as long as the investigations need to expand?"
"Is the objective to turn back the clock in a way that benefits Salameh so that the judiciary becomes preoccupied with claims presented by current defendants, based on the fact that the additional investigations required have not been completed, and thus everyone must wait?"
The sources concluded: "We are facing a scattering of the Salameh file in multiple directions and mazes, under the pretext that it is not solely concerned with what has transpired at BDL. In terms of form, this is necessary, as Salameh is not the only one involved in this complex situation. However, in terms of content, something else is being cooked up to dilute the investigations and lead them into political and judicial mazes that no one knows how they end."
On another note, an official visit took place Tuesday to the drilling platform, attended by the Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and the Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as well as the Ministers of Public Works and Energy, Ali Hamieh and Walid Fayad, who arrived at the platform via a helicopter belonging to TotalEnergies company.
However, Fayad announced the start of the drilling process in Block 9 on Thursday, stating, "After 67 days, we will be awaiting the results of this drilling."
He added, "We hope this will be a positive sign for the Lebanese people. TotalEnergies and its partners are fully committed to professional work. The expectations up to this day are very positive."
He also revealed that "the partners," on the other hand, expressed "interest in the blocks surrounding Block 9, and there will be developments in this context that will be announced when they are more developed."
During a speech at a dinner organized by the Free Patriotic Movement, the leader of the movement, Deputy Gebran Bassil, said, "Every resource and wealth in the country is our responsibility – oil and gas are our trust, and we have safeguarded them until today."
"We will not leave them in the hands of those who prevented them for decades and hindered them for years of our lives," he said.
Bassil added, "We will continue to fight you until we bring down your entire system."