A scandal of red diesel has hit Lebanon after the residents of the country’s coldest areas, who were supposed to take advantage of a temporary government slash of Value Added Tax, suffered from shortages. [Naharnet]

In fact, it was reported that 8 million liters of red diesel were delivered over night at the discounted price to companies and gas stations by the Tripoli refinery and were sold at the normal price of 29,300 LL, which means that they made around 16 Million Dollars in profit.

Gebran Bassil is supposedly behind this scandal and the head of parliament Nabih Berri, as well as many political parties have asked for an investigation. The latest on this matter was revealed today by the head of the Audit bureau, Judge Aouni Ramadan, who stressed that the amount of red diesel sold by a refinery in north Lebanon to oil distribution companies the last day of a one-month government subsidy was much higher than claims made by Energy Minister Jebran Bassil. [Link]