Lebanon’s bank chief Salameh in hot seat as French judge arrives in Beirut

Lebanon’s bank chief Salameh in hot seat as French judge arrives in Beirut

March 13, 2023









BEIRUT — A French judge was scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Monday to question the country’s powerful central bank governor Riad Salameh over a number of alleged money laundering and financial crimes, the European Observatory for the Integrity of Lebanon announced in a statement.

Judge Aude Buresi will interrogate Riad Salameh in the presence of First Investigative Judge of Beirut Charbel Abou Samra in a hearing set for Wednesday.

Salameh, his brother Raja and his assistant Marianne Hoayek were charged last month with embezzlement, money laundering, illicit enrichment, fraud and tax evasion. The charges are part of a domestic probe into Salameh’s assets launched in 2021 by the request of Switzerland, which is investigating $300 million in money transfers by the governor and his brother between 2002 and 2015.

Salameh has occupied his role at the central bank for three decades. The 73-year-old governor denies any wrongdoing and has refused to attend any hearing or questioning.

In January, a European delegation headed to Beirut to begin the investigation process. According to sources who spoke to Reuters, the European investigators will return to the country on Monday and be allowed to attend the interrogation later this week.

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