Several members of the fraud gang have been arrested Bank Audi is one of Lebanon’s leading banks and has branches in other Arab countries BEIRUT: An Iraqi fraud network that blackmailed a Lebanese bank, claiming ownership of millions of dollars of funds, has been uncovered in a joint probe by the Iraqi Intelligence Service and Lebanese General Directorate of the General Security. Several members of the fraud gang have been arrested and investigations are continuing to track the others, the intelligence service said. A spokesman for the Lebanese General Security, Brig. Gen. Munir Aqiqi, told Arab News: “The members of the network, or the mafia, are Iraqis. They filed claims against Bank Audi, which has branches in Iraq, to blackmail it, claiming they had millions of dollars in assets in the bank that had disappeared. “But the documents submitted by them were forged, and they deliberately circulated fabricated news about the bank in order to create an economic shock, and blackmail it to pay money to them.” Aqiqi said that the Lebanese General Security cooperated with the Iraqi Intelligence Service “in total secrecy.” The Director General of the General Security, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, last week made a “lightning visit” to Baghdad to complete the investigation, he said. “There is follow-up work to be done by the Lebanese banking sector so that such incidents do not recur,” Aqiqi said. The President of the Association of Banks, Joseph Tarbay, will hold a press conference on Thursday to the targeting of Lebanese banks by Iraqi fraud gangs. In a statement, Bank Audi thanked “all concerned authorities that exerted their intensive efforts and worked diligently to apply the law to the perpetrators of criminal acts against the banking sector through Bank Audi.” The bank pledged to “maintain its distinguished position and reputation in the banking sector in Lebanon and abroad.” Bank Audi is one of Lebanon’s leading banks, with 73 branches across the country, as well as outlets in 13 Arab and foreign countries. The bank dates back to 1830 when Hanna Audi inherited an exchange company belonging to his father.