120 million euros frozen in Lebanese laundering probe

120 million euros frozen in Lebanese laundering probe

THE HAGUE: France, Germany and Luxembourg have seized properties and frozen assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a major operation linked to money laundering in Lebanon, the EU’s justice agency said Monday. The seizures are linked to a probe launched by French investigators last year into the personal wealth of Riad Salameh, the central bank chief in crisis-hit Lebanon. “Five properties in Germany and France were seized as well as several bank accounts” were frozen, Eurojust said in a statement. The Hague-based Eurojust said the operation on Friday was directed against five individuals who were suspected of embezzling public funds in Lebanon of more than $330 million and five million euros, respectively, between 2002 and 2021. The five suspects include Salameh, a former Merrill Lynch banker and members of his family, a source close to the probe told AFP. Prosecutors are probing Salameh’s alleged links to criminal association and money laundering, judicial sources said, following a similar move by Switzerland. A Lebanese judge last week charged Salameh with “illicit enrichment” and money laundering after he failed to attend a court hearing for the fifth time. Legal proceedings opened against Salameh after complaints filed by anti-graft groups in April