Paris (AFP)

The governor of the central bank of Lebanon, Riad Salamé, and four members of his entourage are targeted by a complaint in France from the NGO Sherpa and a Lebanese collective who accuse them of having fraudulently constituted a rich heritage in Europe, announced the two associations Monday.

Riad Salamé, his brother Raja, his son Nadi, his nephew and a close collaborator at the Lebanese central bank, Marianne Hoayek, are targeted by this complaint.

It was filed on April 30 with the National Financial Prosecutor's Office by the Sherpa association, which fights against serious financial delinquency, and by the "Collective of victims of fraudulent and criminal practices in Lebanon", formed by savers despoiled during the crisis that has hit the country since 2019.

This complaint, consulted by AFP, calls for international investigations for "money laundering and concealment", "fraud", "fraudulent commercial practices" and "lack of justification of resources", all in an "organized band".

The associations are asking the courts to investigate the massive flight of Lebanese capital since the start of the crisis, the acquisition of luxury real estate in disproportion with the income of the people concerned, but also the responsibility of financial intermediaries, via tax havens and nominees.

According to the document, written by lawyers William Bourdon and Alice Lefebvre, "the global heritage" of Riad Salamé "today exceeds $ 2 billion".

"His identified assets in Luxembourg reached $ 94 million in 2018", according to the complaint, which is based in particular on the revelations of the Lebanese site Daraj.com and the investigations of a platform, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Figures that Mr. Riad disputed, claiming to have built his fortune from inheritances and his career in finance.

He is notably the owner of a luxurious villa on the seafront in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes).

Riad Salamé, his brother and Ms. Hoayek are already under investigation in Switzerland.

According to the daily Le Temps, the investigations dissected more than $ 300 million in movements of funds operated by the two men between Lebanon and Switzerland.

Since 2019, Lebanon has experienced its worst economic crisis since the civil war (1975-1990), notably with a plunge in its national currency and banking restrictions prohibiting bank transfers abroad.

For about fifteen years, the French justice, pushed by NGOs, has taken up several cases called "ill-gotten gains" which target the heritage in France of foreign leaders, especially African or Middle Eastern, potentially acquired with embezzled public money.

A new mechanism, intended to allow the restitution to the despoiled populations of the assets confiscated by the French justice, is being examined by the Parliament.

© 2021 AFP