A Lebanese Shi'ite businessman, Salah 'Izz Al-Din, who is close to Hizbullah, was arrested August 29 in Beirut on suspicion of running a $2 billion Ponzi scheme.
The arrest followed his declaration of bankruptcy.
The Lebanese daily Al-Safir reported that thousands of people were harmed by the fraud, and that Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, and senior Shi'ite cleric Muhamamd Hussein Fadhlallah were personally following the investigation.
Fuad Al-Hashem, columnist for the Kuwaiti daily Al-Watan, stated that Hizbullah had lost $683 million in the fraud.
The Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal reported that Lebanese MP from Hizbullah Hussein Al-Hajj was demanding that Al-Din return his $200,000 to him.
Sources: Al-Safir, Lebanon, September 1, 2009; Al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon; Al-Watan, Kuwait, Septembert 2, 2009
