Riad Salameh transferred to prison after hospital stay

Former Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh was transferred to prison on Saturday after being held under police guard in a hospital outside Beirut, a judicial official told AFP.

The official, who requested anonymity, said Salameh “was admitted and placed among the detainees” following a judge's order. The official said his health would remain under close observation and that legal and medical measures would be taken if he needed treatment or transfer to a hospital.

Salameh, 76, had been due in court on Thursday over a complaint by current central bank governor Karim Soueid accusing him of embezzlement, illicit enrichment and money laundering.

After Salameh failed to appear, a judge directed authorities to escort him to court. Another judicial official said Salameh instead decided to go voluntarily but fell ill on the way, leading the judiciary to postpone the hearing.

Later on Thursday, when Salameh was not found at the hospital emergency department or at addresses registered for him, the judge ordered security forces to find him and bring him in for questioning. After he was located at a hospital outside Beirut, the judge on Friday ordered security forces to reinforce measures around his hospital wing and at the facility's entrances, and to consider him in custody.

Last month, an initial hearing was held at Salameh's home because of his deteriorating health, with a judge presiding over his questioning.

The central bank has said it was the victim of the embezzlement of several hundred million euros, allegedly committed at its expense by Salameh with help from people around him.

Salameh led Lebanon's central bank from 1993 to July 2023. He has denied wrongdoing and says he is being made a scapegoat for Lebanon's economic collapse, which began in 2019.