Raja Salameh appears before European judicial team

A European judicial team pressed on with its corruption probe of Lebanon's embattled Central Bank governor on Thursday, questioning Salameh's brother, Raja, for the first time.

Raja Salameh had not shown up at a session last week, citing illness.

The delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg is on its third visit to Lebanon to interrogate suspects and witnesses in an ongoing investigation of Gov. Riad Salameh and associates over several financial crimes and the laundering of some $330 million.

The governor faces allegations of crimes including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad. His brother Raja is accused of complicity.

Last month, the European delegation questioned Riad Salameh about the Central Bank's assets and investments outside Lebanon, a Paris apartment owned by Salameh, and Forry Associates Ltd, a brokerage firm owned by his brother.

Raja Salameh is to appear before French prosecutors in mid-May.