Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri reportedly gave over $16 million to a swimsuit model in South Africa, court documents obtained by The New York Times revealed on Monday.
According to the model, Candice van der Merwe, the two became involved in a romantic relationship after meeting at a luxury resort in Seychelles, an archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean off East Africa. There is no suggestion that Hariri, who was not PM when the first money transfer was made in 2013, had violated any Lebanese or South African laws, according to the report. However, the large sum payment drew attention after tax authorities in South Africa began investigating the transfer from a Lebanese bank. Authorities had suspected the money might have been "taxable income," which led the model to identify the benefactor (aka Hariri).
The married Lebanese politician and father of three, then 43 years old, was living abroad at the time of the first transfer. The model, then 20, was in her home country.
The second transfer, estimated at $1 million, was made by Hariri after the model went into legal trouble for the sudden generous amount that was found in her bank account. This second gift was to "help cover her legal and living expenses."
The PM has not commented on the recent reports.
But want to take a hit on who has commented on the scandal? Twitter users all around.