Today, Thursday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, denied the accusations leveled against him of money laundering, embezzlement and illegal enrichment.
"As I announced previously, I am innocent of these charges," Salameh told Reuters, adding that the charges did not constitute an indictment.
He made it clear that he respects "the laws and the judicial system," indicating that he will abide by the procedures.
Earlier today, Thursday, the Public Defender of Appeal in Beirut charged the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon with several crimes, including embezzlement and money laundering.
In April 2022, the Lebanese judiciary opened a local investigation into Salama’s wealth and its source, after he was targeted by an investigation in Switzerland and later in other European countries, on suspicion of his and his brother Raja Salameh’s involvement in cases of embezzlement of more than 300 million dollars.
A judicial official told Agence France-Presse that Judge Raja Hamoush charged Salameh, his brother, and his assistant, Marianne Howayek, with crimes of "embezzlement of public funds, forgery, illegal enrichment, money laundering, and violation of tax law."
The allegation against Salameh comes more than a month after European investigators in Beirut heard witnesses, including bank managers and employees of the Banque du Liban, in the context of investigations related to the wealth of the central bank governor.
Despite the complaints, summons, investigations, and travel ban issued against him in Lebanon, Salameh is still in the position he has held since 1993, making him one of the longest-serving central bank rulers in the world, and his term is supposed to end next May.