Lebanon slaps travel ban on central bank chief wanted by France

Lebanon slaps travel ban on central bank chief wanted by France

BEIRUT: A Lebanese judge on Wednesday banned the country’s central bank chief Riad Salameh from traveling, days after Beirut received an Interpol red notice following a French arrest warrant.

Imad Qabalan, general prosecutor at the Lebanese Court of Cassation, questioned Salameh before releasing him pending investigation, and confiscating his Lebanese and French passports.

Salameh, 72, appeared before Qabalan, who informed him of the Interpol warrant issued against him by the French judiciary on May 16. He was then charged with the accusations listed in the red notice.

Lebanon’s long-serving central bank chief has been the target of a series of judicial investigations both at home and abroad over allegations including fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment.

The latest step comes in the context of investigations being conducted by the European judiciary. Salameh, his brother Raja, and his assistant Marianne Hoayek are suspected of being involved in corruption in European banks.

Interpol circulated the red notice last week after a French magistrate issued a warrant for Salameh, who failed to appear for questioning in Paris before investigators probing his sizeable assets across Europe.

Aude Buresi, the French judge in charge of investigating Salameh’s funds and assets in Europe, issued an international arrest warrant against Salameh on May