New Corruption Crisis: European investigators in Lebanon to reveal the wealth of the Central Bank president
A judicial official said: European investigators will visit Lebanon next month as part of an investigation into the fortune of Central Bank of Lebanon Governor Riad Salameh, the 72-year-old long-serving president of the central bank, who is among senior officials widely blamed for Lebanon’s unprecedented economic crisis, which the World Bank has called one of the worst in modern world history.
European Inquiry
A Lebanese judicial official said, “The prosecutor, Ghassan Oueidat, was informed that delegations of prosecutors, investigating judges and prosecutors from Germany, Luxembourg, France and Britain will arrive in Beirut between January 9th and 20th,” AFP reported.
In March, France, Germany and Luxembourg confiscated properties and frozen assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a major operation linked to an investigation by French investigators into Salameh’s personal wealth, the official said. The visit aims to conduct investigations into financial matters related to Salameh, the official added, asking for anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. Authorities in the three European countries have notified the Lebanese Attorney General of their intention to question “Salameh, officials at the Central Bank of Lebanon and heads of commercial banks,” the official said.
Lebanese rejection
According to AFP, a source in France close to the case confirmed the forthcoming visit, but sources in the Lebanese Justice Palace condemned this step, considering it “a serious violation of Lebanese law… It violates its national sovereignty,” and said that any investigation on Lebanese territory is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Lebanese judiciary. The law only allows a foreign authority to investigate any pending file in Lebanon under a court order.”
It added that Lebanon opened an investigation into Salameh’s wealth last year after the Swiss Attorney General’s office requested assistance in an investigation into more than $300 million he allegedly embezzled from the Central Bank with his brother’s help. Last June, the Lebanese Prosecutor investigating Salameh on suspicion of financial irregularities asked that charges be brought against him based on the preliminary results of the investigation, according to a judicial official at the time. The Salameh Brothers repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and the Central Bank President remained in power despite the investigations, and Lebanese courts imposed a travel ban on him.
