Gaby Emile Layoun (Arabic: غابي اميل ليون; born 1 November 1964, Zahle) was the Lebanese Minister of Culture, announced as part of the cabinet led by Najib Mikati.
Ralph Pederson a member of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, now teaching at the University of Marburg in Germany also prepared an expert report for Venus.
[6][7] The destruction of archaeological site BEY194 took place two days prior to the publication of Minister Layoun's decision in the official Gazette, leading to claims that he acted in violation of Lebanese law and setting a concerning precedent for similar actions in the future.
"I refused with previous culture ministers bribes that have been generously offered by the Venus company, the owner of the land so that we would agree to falsify scientific truth and divert the origin and significance of this discovery at the heart of the capital Beirut".
[10][11] Another controversial decision was the one that led to the demolition on Jan 3, 2013 of the house of the celebrated Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf in Beirut's Badaro neighborhood.