The Dubai billionaire who last year threatened to slice up the Metropolitan Palace Hotel in Beirut and ship it out on barges is calling it quits on Lebanon once and for all.
Al Habtoor Group — helmed by the outspoken real estate and hospitality billionaire Khalaf Al-Habtoor — issued a statement on Wednesday saying it was ceasing all operations in the country, against the backdrop of legal action against the Lebanese government.
The conglomerate, which since opening a hotel in Beirut in 2001 has invested more than $1 billion across the country’s hospitality, retail, leisure, real estate, and finance sectors, said it has suffered losses exceeding $1.7 billion. Al Habtoor Group pointed the blame at Lebanese authorities and the central bank, Banque du Liban, which it alleges prevented it from accessing and transferring its funds held in Lebanese banks.