Kheireddine charged, slapped with travel ban in Paris in Salameh probe

Al Mawarid Bank chairman and ex-Lebanese minister Marwan Kheireddine has been charged in France and slapped with a travel ban without being detained.

Kheireddine “is being mainly questioned over his role in covering up for the money laundering crimes of the Salameh brothers and Marianne Hoayek, especially that Raja Salameh had three bank accounts at Al-Mawarid Bank that grew from $15 million in 1993 to $150 million in 2019,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

“It seems that Kheireddine, who is stranded in Paris, has no other choice but to cooperate with the (French) judiciary,” the daily said.

Informed French sources meanwhile told al-Akhbar that the judicial measures against Kheireddine would be eased if he provided the judge with “names and details” about the suspects.

“Should the file reach the court for a trial over the charges against him, the cost will be 10 years in jail in addition to the freezing of his private assets and properties,” the newspaper added.

Unnamed sources meanwhile told al-Akhbar that the charges against Kheirddine require a meeting of the bank’s board of directors aimed at sacking him.

“Panic has gripped other Lebanese bankers,” the daily said, adding that Kheireddine is accused of “providing the Salameh brothers with fake documents for the supposed bank accounts of Raja Salameh at Al Mawarid Bank.”