Beirut Public Prosecutor recuses himself from Salameh's lawsuit

Beirut Public Prosecutor Ziad Abu Haidar recused himself Monday from looking into Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh's lawsuit, media reports said.

Lebanon had opened a probe into Salameh's wealth last year, after the office of Switzerland's top prosecutor requested assistance in an investigation into more than $300 million which he allegedly embezzled out of the central bank with the help of his brother.

On Thursday, Oueidat "concluded preliminary investigations into the central bank governor," a court official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the issue.

"He transferred the case to the public prosecutor's office in Beirut and asked the court to charge Salameh, his brother and Salameh's secretary," the official added.