Lebanon’s central bank chief expected to be no-show in Paris court

Lebanon’s central bank chief expected to be no-show in Paris court

BEIRUT: Riad Salameh, the governor of Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban, is not expected to appear as scheduled before a European financial investigation at a Paris court on Tuesday.

He was summoned by French Judge Aude Buresi two weeks ago. It is thought the session was scheduled to bring charges against Salameh over allegations that he accumulated a fortune in European accounts, including cash and real estate, through a complex system of financial arrangements and the embezzlement of large amounts of Lebanese public funds.

The European investigation, involving France, Germany and Luxembourg, focuses on the relationship between the central bank and Forry Associates, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, with an office in Beirut, that is owned by the governor’s brother, Raja Salameh.

It is alleged it is a shell company used to transfer money out of Lebanon to European banks. It is suspected that more than $330 million was embezzled from the central bank through a grant contract with the company, in addition to illegal commissions from local Lebanese banks.

Officials at Mina El-Hosn police station in Beirut — the local law enforcement authority responsible for notifying Salameh he has been summoned by the judge in Paris — told the