Riad Salameh faces new Lebanon embezzlement suit: official

Lebanon filed a lawsuit on Monday against former central bank governor Riad Salameh over accusations including embezzlement and illegal enrichment, a judicial official told AFP.

The official said a judge filed legal proceedings against Salameh and former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna. The accusations include setting up shell companies, misappropriating central bank funds, using those funds to fraudulently buy shares and bonds from commercial banks, illegal enrichment, money laundering and bribery, the official said.

The judge requested an arrest warrant for Salameh, 76, and asked for the prosecutor's office to be consulted after Hanna is questioned. The case was referred to another judge for further investigation and legal procedures.

Salameh was placed in custody late last month after missing a hearing over the case and is being held under tight security at a government hospital outside Beirut. Hanna recently posted bail of $1 million.

In January, new central bank governor Karim Soueid announced that he had filed a criminal complaint in Lebanon against Salameh and Hanna, without naming them, over alleged misappropriation of funds, illicit enrichment and suspected money laundering. Bank Audi later announced Hanna's resignation.

The central bank told AFP it was the victim of embezzlement amounting to several hundred million euros allegedly committed by its former governor with help from people around him.

Salameh led Lebanon's central bank from 1993 to July 2023. He has faced accusations including embezzlement and tax evasion in Lebanon and abroad. He was arrested in September 2024 and charged with offences including the alleged embezzlement of $44 million from the central bank, then released a year later after posting bail of more than $14 million.

French authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Salameh in May 2023. Salameh, who also holds French citizenship, has denied wrongdoing and says he is being made a scapegoat for Lebanon's economic collapse, which began in 2019.