France to press fraud, money laundering charges against Lebanon’s cenbank chief: Report
Riad Salameh faces money laundering charges in Lebanon and several European countries
By
News Desk
– April 22 2023
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(Photo Credit: AFP)
French prosecutors informed Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh this week about their intention to press preliminary fraud and money laundering charges against him based on forged bank statements Salameh used to conceal his wealth, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters.
Salameh has been accused of stealing hundreds of millions in public funds over his three-decade tenure as central bank governor by using a shell company established by his brother, Raja Salameh.
The new accusation is related to allegations that Marwan Kheireddine, chief executive of Lebanese bank Al Mawarid, falsified banking statements for accounts owned by Raja.
It comes on top of money laundering, illicit enrichment, and corruption charges the central bank chief faces in Lebanon and at least five European countries, including France.
Salameh was reportedly informed of the new charges against him ahead of a planned hearing in France on 16 May, when French prosecutors intend to press the preliminary charges and formally name him a suspect.
In the French court document seen by Reuters, French investigators concluded that Salameh “used fake records of bank accounts at AM Bank … provided by Marwan Kheireddine, to justify in a deceitful manner the origin of his properties or revenues”.
A lawyer for Salameh said earlier this month that his client had yet to decide if he would travel to France to attend the upcoming hearing.
Earlier this week, Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court upheld a decision by the Office of the Attorney General to refuse a request to release a portion of funds frozen in an account linked to Salameh.
Last month, Salameh appeared in court for the first time to face accusations of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds. The hearing came just days after the Lebanese lira shed nearly 100 percent of its value as Lebanon’s economic crisis spirals out of control.
According to an investigation by The Cradle columnist Lea Azzi, since 1997, Salameh has personally taken all the measures and made all the decisions that led to Lebanon’s economic collapse.
These include executing financial engineering that doubled the profits of bank owners and increased the state’s debt; concealing the losses of the banking sector; applying subsidies to imports of fuel, medicine, and wheat, and then raising prices before finding an alternative for citizens; and finally, of participating in currency market speculation which contributed to the collapse of the Lebanese lira, wiping out the life savings of millions.
