He was absent from the investigation and the hearing was postponed to today
Banque du Liban governor 'wanted for justice' on corruption charges
A car enters the headquarters of the Palace of Justice in Beirut, which is preparing for Riad Salameh's investigation session tomorrow. Reuters
Riad Salameh stressed that the accusations are part of an attempt to make him a scapegoat for Lebanon's financial crisis. Reuters
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Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh did not attend an investigation hearing into corruption charges held by a local judge alongside European investigators on Tuesday after objections to the proceedings from Salameh's lawyers, two sources told Reuters.
Salameh is being investigated in Lebanon and at least five European countries over allegations of embezzlement of public funds. Salameh denies the accusations, saying they are part of an attempt to scapegoat Lebanon's financial crisis.
Lebanese authorities charged Salameh last month with financial crimes and set a date for the first hearing yesterday. Two sources told Reuters earlier that French and German investigators who arrived in Beirut this week to continue their investigation into his case had been told they had been allowed to attend the hearing.
But a senior judicial source and a second source familiar with the developments said that Salameh's lawyer arrived yesterday at the Palace of Justice without him, and objected to the judge presiding over the hearing to the presence of European investigators.
"Salameh's lawyer attended, and submitted an explanatory memorandum, in which he considered that his summons to a European investigation session is a violation of the sovereignty of the Lebanese judiciary under the International Convention against Corruption," the judicial source said.
The judge decided to adjourn the hearing until Thursday. The judicial source said this would allow the state to postpone mutual legal assistance with foreign investigators.
Another source close to Salameh said there were procedural issues to be resolved.
The National News Agency, Lebanon's official news agency, reported that "the Lebanese state, represented by the head of the Case Authority at the Ministry of Justice, Helena Iskandar, (filed) a personal complaint against Banque du Liban Governor Riad Tawfiq Salameh, his brother Raja Tawfiq Salameh, Marianne Majid Howayek, and all those shown by the investigation. for the crimes of bribery, forgery, use of counterfeiters, money laundering, illicit enrichment and tax evasion," and demanded their arrest and the freezing of their assets.
Judge Iskandar requested the arrest of the defendants "and the seizure of their real estate properties and the freezing of their bank accounts and the accounts of their spouses and minor children to prevent them from disposing of them in order to preserve the rights of the Lebanese state, and the issuance of the presumptive decision against them in preparation for their trial before the Criminal Court in Beirut to impose the most severe penalties against them due to the seriousness of the crimes alleged against them, retaining the investigation of determining personal compensation before the Basic Court."
It also requested that "a copy of the case be referred to the Special Investigation Commission at the Banque du Liban through the Public Prosecution of Cassation to freeze the accounts of the defendants and the accounts of their spouses and minor children with Lebanese and foreign banks."
It also requested "the issuance of the decision to mark this lawsuit on the defendants' real estate to prevent them from disposing of it."
On February 23, the Attorney General of Appeal in Beirut, Judge Raja Hammouche, charged Salameh, his brother and his assistant with "the crimes of embezzlement of public funds, forgery, use of forgery, illicit enrichment, money laundering, and violation of the tax law."
Judge Hammouche referred the file with the defendants to the first investigative judge in Beirut, Charbel Abu Samra, requesting "interrogation and the issuance of the necessary judicial warrants against them."
Helena Iskandar said the move was aimed at preserving the Lebanese state's right to seize any assets seized as a result of illegal activities.
Last year, German prosecutors said Salameh was a suspect in a case that resulted in the freezing of Lebanese assets amounting to about 120 million euros ($132 million).
France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco and Belgium seized property and bank accounts linked to five people suspected of embezzling about $330 million and five million euros between 2002 and 2021.
Salameh, 72, has been governor of the Central Bank for 30 years and says he is not interested in staying in the post once his last six-year term ends in July.
His departure from office will mark a milestone in the country's financial meltdown, which began in 2019 and was the result of decades of overspending, corruption and unsustainable fiscal policies.
Salameh has worked alongside influential figures, but sources say some of his traditional support bases in Lebanon and abroad are beginning to crumble.
Salameh faced charges in a separate, smaller corruption case last year in Lebanon but did not attend its hearings. European investigators have yet to question him directly.
■ The Lebanese State filed a personal claim against the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Tawfik Salameh.