Salameh remanded in custody, Ghada Aoun asks to question him

State Prosecutor Judge Jamal al-Hajjar on Wednesday referred the file of detained former Central Bank governor Riad Salameh to Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim, who charged Salameh and referred him in custody to Beirut First Examining Magistrate Bilal Halawi.

Sources told al-Jadeed television that Halawi will either issue an arrest warrant or decide to release Salameh on bail, with the scenario of arrest being the “more likely.”

A judicial source meanwhile told Al-Arabiya TV that Salameh will remain in custody until his trial session next week.

Three judicial officials meanwhile told The Associated Press that Ibrahim charged Salameh with the embezzlement of $42 million.

During his hours-long interrogation on Monday, Salameh was asked about a key case in which a company was allegedly hired to manipulate statements and conceal Lebanon’s hemorrhaging finances.

According to two other judicial officials, Salameh appeared to have brought in the company, called Optimum, to help facilitate embezzling money from the Central Bank through other accounts, eventually reaching his own.

The financial intelligence unit of the Central Bank presented bank statements and financial documents to the public prosecution, added the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The Central Bank told the AP that it had no comment.

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun meanwhile hailed Salameh’s arrest as a “historic event,” but that it “must be completed so that the Lebanese people believe that the process of combating corruption has really started in Lebanon.”

“Mount Lebanon’s prosecution had issued dozens of subpoenas against Riad Salameh in the file of the $9 billion loans, but unfortunately they remained without enforcement by security agencies until this date. Hasn’t the time come to enforce them, Mr. State Prosecutor, and what prevents bringing him to Baabda for interrogation in this file, since he is in custody now?” Aoun wondered.

“There is also the file of the $100 million file mentioned on Page 95 of the Alvarez (& Marsal) report … and the file of the $8 billion, which is the amount of commissions in the Optimum file,” the judge added.

“If there are security reasons, I am willing to head to where he is detained now to interrogate him. I hope that there are good intentions and I hope justice will triumph,” Aoun went on to say.

Salameh ended his 30-year term as Central Bank governor a year ago under a cloud, with several European countries probing allegations of financial crimes. Many in Lebanon blame him for the crippling financial crisis that has gripped the country since late 2019.

He was appointed in 1993 and initially celebrated for his role in steering Lebanon's economic recovery after a 15-year civil war, and for keeping the economy on an even keel during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.

Salameh has for years denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.

The embattled Salameh is also in the midst of several other cases against him, both locally and internationally.

France, Germany, and Luxembourg are also investigating Salameh and close associates over alleged illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330 million.

Salameh has criticized the European investigation and said it was part of a media and political campaign make him a scapegoat.

Meanwhile, the U.S., the U.K, and Canada have sanctioned Salameh and his close associates, and France issued an international arrest warrant for him, though Lebanon does not hand over its own citizens for extradition.

Lebanon has not appointed a new Central Bank governor, but a vice governor, Wassim Mansouri, has been named acting governor. The crisis-hit country has also been without a president for almost two years and is run by a caretaker Cabinet with limited functions.