Former Bank of Lebanon Governor Riad Salameh Faces Arrest Warrant for Financial Corruption
Next Tuesday, August 29, will not be a normal day in the court history of former Bank of Lebanon Governor Riad Salameh as the Beirut indictment intends to issue an arrest warrant against him for the crime of financial corruption and embezzlement, forgery, and money laundering.
The head of the indictment, Judge Helena Iskandar, in statements to Al-Arabiya.net, said “Tuesday’s hearing is a life-changing one,” stating: “Salama has no choice but to attend because we have informed him of the date of the hearing in accordance with legal principles, that is, inserted into three addresses belonging to him after he could not tell him orally because we did not find him.
Emphasizing the Inevitability of Salameh’s Arrest
Emphasizing that there is no way out of Salameh’s arrest warrant, Iskandar said: “If he is present at the meeting, then a warrant for arrest in person will be issued for him, and if he is absent, then he will be arrested in absentia and will be sent to various security agencies.”
If the former governor of the Bank of Lebanon takes part in the meeting of the indictment chamber, it will be the first time since he was absent from the meeting on August 9 last year, because he also could not be notified, because he could not be found in any place, legally declared addresses.
Secrets and Flash Memory
These quick court events in this case come just after the news of Salama’s departure from Lebanese territory at a time when the British newspaper The Financial Times reported a few days ago that he had sent abroad a “flash memory” containing many of the secrets of his work on in case something bad happens to him, known as the protector and keeper of the secrets of the political class in Lebanon.
In this context, Iskandar, whose name has become famous in Lebanon due to his connection with this delicate issue that worried and continues to occupy a large part of the Lebanese, many of whom want to stop the “ruler,” noted that “if it is really proved that Salama is outside Lebanon, we will demand an international arrest warrant for him, knowing that his Lebanese and French passports have been confiscated by the Lebanese judiciary.
The Tripartite Sanctions and Frozen Assets
Regarding the tripartite sanctions imposed by the US Treasury, UK, and Canada against Salama (73 years old), his son, brother, assistant, and Ukrainian partner due to “illicit enrichment”, as well as the fate of the frozen assets, estimated at more than $200 million, explained Judge: “The Lebanese State has previously appointed lawyers in France in order to maintain its right to return its property and assets to its favor, and after the completion of these procedures, we will continue to freeze assets in France.”
The Strengthening Noose
For her part, economics writer Sabina Aweis noted: “Salama’s legal noose is increasing, and after next Tuesday, he will be put on a wanted list in Lebanon, and his arrest will be seen as an important step to decipher the cohesive system associated with him.”
She also explained to Al-Arabiya.net: “The acceleration of investigations against Salameh does not have any economic consequences for Lebanon, since it has lost the immunity it enjoyed after leaving the post of governor of the Central Bank.”
She said: “The development of the lawsuit has accelerated due to two factors: firstly, the imposition of US sanctions against him after he left the government, and then the publication of a criminal audit report of the company Alvarez & Marsal, which audited Banque du Liban accounts from 2015 to 2020 year”.
Contacting Salameh’s Legal Representative
We tried to contact the legal representative of the former head of the central bank, prosecutor Hafez Zahoor, to clarify some points about his client’s case and what options he can resort to next Tuesday’s meeting, but he did not answer.
It is noteworthy that Salama has been under investigation for many years in Lebanon, France, and at least four other European countries due to allegations of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars and laundering part of the proceeds abroad.
Although the 73-year-old is considered one of the oldest central bankers in the world, having served in office since 1993 and then left on July 31 due to the economic collapse that Lebanon has been witnessing since 2019, the World Bank ranked him among the worst in the world and considers him the worst in the history of the country.
