The probes into Lebanese central bank chief Salameh

The probes into Lebanese central bank chief Salameh

Lebanon has been verbally informed of a German arrest warrant against Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh, who is being investigated for money laundering and embezzlement in his home country and abroad but denies any wrongdoing.

The move by Germany comes one week after France issued its own arrest warrant and just days after Interpol issued a red notice for the 72-year-old governor.

Here's what you need to know about the cases:

EUROPE INVESTIGATES

Investigations began with a Swiss probe into whether Salameh and his brother Raja illegally took more than $300 million from the central bank between 2002 and 2015.

Since then, European countries including France, Germany, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein have initiated their own investigations into whether tens of millions of dollars of the funds allegedly embezzled from the central bank were laundered in Europe.

In March 2022, the European Union's criminal justice cooperation organization announced the freezing of some 120 million euros($130 million) of Lebanese assets in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco and Belgium, in a case in which Munich prosecutors said Salameh was a suspect.

Lebanon has hosted European investigators three times: first in January to interrogate witnesses and obtain additional evidence, then in March to question Salameh and in May to interrogate his brother