MEA board members resign

Six members of Middle East Airlines' board of directors have submitted their resignation following weeks of investigations into a suspicious deal involving the June leasing by MEA officials of three Airbuses from Singapore Airlines.

The members resigned following a meeting of the 11-member board during which a general assembly meeting was scheduled for January 9 for the selection of a new board.

The election of a new board was requested by the Central Bank, who owns 99 percent of MEA shares. Members of the board who resigned Thursday submitted their resignation to Riad Salameh, the governor of the Bank.

The resignation comes less than a week after MEA Chairman Khaled Salam temporarily handing over his duties to the company's chief public relations officer, Khattar Hadathi, pending the completion of ongoing investigations.