Lebanon charges Central Bank’s Riad Salameh with money laundering at no-show hearing – The National

Lebanon charges Central Bank’s Riad Salameh with money laundering at no-show hearing – The National

The Lebanese state pressed charges on Wednesday against Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh, who has so far remained uncooperative with the judiciary as he failed to show up to a hearing with European judicial officials related to an international graft investigation, two sources confirmed to The National.

Judge Helena Iskandar — president of the Cases Authority at the Ministry of Justice, who is representing the Lebanese state during questioning in the European investigations — charged Mr Salameh, his brother Raja Salameh and his assistant Marianne Hoayek with money laundering, bribery, forgery, illicit enrichment and tax evasion and ordered the freezing of their assets.

The move marks the first money-laundering charges brought against the trio by the Lebanese state in this case. It is an essential step for Lebanon to recover embezzled assets abroad.