Abdel Kader Alameddine

In December 2018, a number of El Mina municipal council members filed a personal criminal complaint (ادعاء شخصي) with the Financial Public Prosecutor accusing Alameddine of embezzling public funds and breach of trust. Reporting by Al-Modon, published "with documents and evidence," set out the allegations in detail.

Council members said that when Alameddine was asked to account for certain municipal funds, he said he had given them to the municipality's financial comptroller. The complainants argued that this amounted to a public employee soliciting or accepting a bribe from another public employee. The formal allegations included embezzlement of public funds, breach of trust, and bribery of a public official.

El Mina municipal council members publicly called for Alameddine's resignation from both the mayoralty and the Al-Fayhaa Union of Municipalities "so that justice can take its course." He resigned the union presidency but did not resign as mayor.

The controversy resurfaced in December 2019 after a residential building collapse in El Mina killed two siblings; residents and council members blamed neglect of the old city's buildings and again demanded Alameddine's resignation, though that episode was a separate allegation of administrative negligence rather than the 2018 corruption complaint.

In 2020, Alameddine's lawyer responded to reports that his client had missed a court session. The lawyer said Alameddine had attended and would continue to attend hearings, confirming that the case had reached scheduled court sessions.