The Supreme Islamic Shiite Council has intervened in the case of Mohammad Aref Yassin, who was arrested at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport last week while attempting to bring in a suitcase containing $2.5 million in undeclared cash. The council sent a letter to the Lebanese judiciary asserting that the funds belonged to it and formally requesting their return, Nidaa Al-Watan newspaper reported.

The case has drawn widespread scrutiny, with observers questioning why the council did not immediately declare ownership of the money at the time of Yassin’s arrest. The circumstances surrounding the transfer have also raised concerns over why such a large sum was transported in cash rather than through legal banking channels.

Yassin reportedly failed to disclose that the funds were linked to the council when he was detained. Instead, he initially claimed that the money consisted of donations for Lebanon’s Shiite community and would be distributed to various associations. However, investigators later discovered that the names of the intended beneficiaries were fictitious. Following preliminary inquiries, Judge Sami Sader charged Yassin with money laundering.

The controversy has deepened amid growing questions about Yassin’s role. Did he have an official mandate from the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council to transport the funds? Why did he travel to Turkey for this specific task and wait in the duty-free zone for the courier arriving from Iran? The circumstances have fueled speculation that the transfer was both illicit and suspicious.

The case has also drawn comparisons to the arrest of Bishop Moussa El-Hage, who was detained a few years ago while carrying funds from Lebanese citizens in Israel and the West Bank intended for their relatives in Lebanon. In El-Hage’s case, the sources and recipients of the money were well-documented, including sums earmarked for the Druze community. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt later requested that the Druze Community House withdraw its claim to the funds. 

Critics now question why the judiciary is handling Yassin’s case differently from El-Hage’s, raising concerns of double standards.

As public scrutiny mounts, Lebanon’s judiciary faces renewed pressure to demonstrate impartiality. The case has become a test of whether legal decisions will be made solely in the name of the law or continue to be influenced by the political dominance that has shaped the country for decades.