Central bank Governor Riad Salameh. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT – Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun subpoenaed central bank Governor Riad Salameh on Tuesday for having missed a third questioning in the case filed against him by civil society group The People Want to Reform the System, a judicial source confirmed to L’Orient Today.
Here’s what we know:
• Aoun’s subpoena is the latest in a series of measures taken against Salameh after she had issued a travel ban against the governor on Jan. 11 and an asset freeze on his real estate and cars on Jan. 18.
• Salameh did not attend the last scheduled questioning on Jan. 18 after missing an earlier hearing on Jan. 9, after which his lawyer asked for Aoun to be removed from the case. A new hearing date was set by Mount Lebanon Prosecuting Judge Arlette Tabet for March 3.
• The hearings scheduled for Salameh are part of a case led by civil society group The People Want to Reform the System, whose lawyers filed a complaint against the central bank governor accusing him of embezzlement, wasting public funds, illegal enrichment and money laundering.