Currency crisis in Lebanon: lawsuits against the boss of one of the biggest banks

In Beirut, Wednesday, June 17, people lined up to change money. REUTERS / Mohamed Azakir

Text by: Paul Khalifeh Follow

In Lebanon, the financial prosecutor has launched proceedings against the boss of one of the country's largest banks against the backdrop of an unprecedented depreciation of the Lebanese pound against the dollar, leading to galloping price inflation.

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From our correspondent in Beirut,

The chief of the financial parquet Ali Ibrahim referred before a magistrate the CEO of the General Bank Company in Lebanon, SGBL, Antoine Sehnaoui, for violation of the exchange code and attack on the prestige of the State.

The businessman, who heads one of the largest banking establishments in the country, has been in the United States for weeks, he did not appear before the judge.

The measure of the financial prosecutor comes as the Lebanese pound has lost more than 200% of its value against the dollar. Last week, a Hezbollah MP accused the SGBL of buying massive dollars on the Lebanese market with the aim of transferring them abroad.

The shortage of greenbacks is one of the most serious consequences of the unprecedented economic and financial crisis that has hit Lebanon since last fall.

In the same context, a criminal judge in Beirut has set October 14 as the start of a trial opposing a group of activists and lawyers to the governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salamé, accused of corruption.

The head of the Central Bank , who is one of the main targets of the protest movement , will be tried for weakening the national currency, damaged confidence in the finances of the state as well as embezzlement of public funds, according to the accusations of his critics.

► Read also: Beirut takes measures to counter the collapse of the Lebanese pound

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  • Lebanon
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  • Corruption

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