Former Lebanon central bank chief to remain in jail while facing corruption charges

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese judge ruled Monday that the country’s former central bank chief will remain in jail while facing charges of embezzling tens of millions of dollars from state coffers.

Lebanon’s Financial Public Prosecution division charged Riad Salameh last week with embezzlement of $42 million after he was detained following an interrogation by Lebanon’s top public prosecutor over several alleged financial crimes.

Salameh has maintained that he is innocent.

On Monday after Salameh appeared at a court hearing, Judge Bilal Halawi issued an arrest warrant against him, meaning he will remain behind bars while the case is tried.

Judicial officials said Salameh arranged with two attorneys to transfer money from the central bank through other accounts, eventually reaching his own.

Following the charges, Lebanon’s justice ministry filed a lawsuit against Salameh for alleged embezzlement of public funds.

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

A judicial official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case said Salameh appeared in court on the day of his arrest last week without a lawyer, believing that he had been summoned as a witness, not a suspect.

Many Lebanese depositors saw their savings dissipate or remain trapped in banks as a result of the plunging national currency and collapse of the banking system.

A small group of protesters gathered outside the justice palace in Beirut to urge that Salameh remain behind bars.

“Everyone who collaborated with Riad Salameh, whether in the deep state or in the banks or the thieves and money launderers or the media that whitewashed Riad Salameh, they will all be with him" in jail, said Elias Jaradeh, part of a group of independent legislators who came to office in 2022 on an anti-government and anti-corruption platform.

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

He 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.

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Sewell reported from Istanbul.