Mr. Salamé was summoned Tuesday morning for questioning for a possible indictment but did not appear because, according to his lawyer Pierre-Olivier Sur, his summons did not respect the rules.

"By having sent the summons less than ten days before the scheduled date of the interrogation, the texts were not respected. The summons is therefore null and void. It's unstoppable," Sur told AFP.

A Lebanese judicial source said Monday that Lebanese police officers had gone for four consecutive days last week to the headquarters of the Lebanese central bank to deliver the summons to Mr. Salame, without success.

After this refusal to appear, the French magistrate had two options: to summon Mr. Salamé again or to issue an arrest warrant.

It chose the second, formally implicating Mr. Salamé for the first time in its judicial investigation opened in France since July 2021.

"This arrest warrant, which is based on a failure to respond to a summons after the deadline, is in my view an abuse of rights pure and simple," said Sur.

Lebanon does not extradite its nationals, but it enforces foreign court decisions concerning them.

Mr. Salamé, 72, refutes accusations that he has built up a rich real estate and banking heritage in Europe through a complex financial package and a massive embezzlement of Lebanese public funds.

Since the beginning of the year, European judges, including the French judge, have visited Lebanon three times to question him and his relatives.

At least two indictments have been issued in the French investigation: Anna K., a relative of Mr. Salamé, suspected of being one of his front men in France; and Marwan Kheireddine, former minister and current head of the private bank al-Mawarid.

In March 2022, France, Germany and Luxembourg froze €120 million of Lebanese assets suspected of belonging to the BDL governor.

The Paris Court of Appeal is due to examine the validity of the seizures made by the France on 23 May.

"This widespread evasion is commensurate with his cynicism and his refusal to assume any responsibility (...) One day or another, Mr. Salamé will be arrested," said William Bourdon, a lawyer for the Sherpa association and the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon, civil parties.

GD/EDY/PA/DCH

© 2023 AFP