Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun. (Credit: Houssam Chbaro)
The CEO of Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), Antoun Sehnaoui, yesterday afternoon filed an appeal for divestiture against Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun.
He did not appear at the hearing set for him this morning by Judge Aoun as part of her investigation based on a complaint filed by civil society group The People Want to Reform the System, against about fifteen banks, for "breach of trust and fraud against depositors," as well as "misuse of public funds." The collective accuses these banks of having borrowed several billion dollars from Banque du Liban at the start of the financial crisis, of having transferred them abroad and of having then reimbursed themselves at the rate of LL1,500 to the US dollar.
The banks' argument
It was not as a defendant or even as a witness that Sehnaoui was to be heard yesterday by Judge Aoun. An informed source told L'Orient-Le Jour that the latter had decided to summon all the bank bosses, including the CEO of SGBL, to gather "information" on the issue of loans and repayments raised by the complainant. It is therefore not a question of interrogating accused parties, indicated the source. Any prosecutor can initiate a preliminary investigation before deciding whether or not to prosecute the parties in question, depending on the facts of the case, she continued.
CEO of Bank of Beirut Salim Sfeir, and Samir Hanna, President of the Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL) and of Bank Audi Samir Hanna. They went to the Baabda Justice Palace on Monday, where their respective hearings lasted nearly two hours.
The two executives gave the prosecutor documented explanations, based on the accounts of BDL and the banks, said a source close to banking circles.
While not denying that many banks have effectively transferred funds abroad, the source said that these amounts were intended to cover commitments made before the financial crisis with other banks. It was necessary to pay these sums so as not to be the subject of legal proceedings, continued the source. Also refuting the accusations of repayment at the rate of LL 1,500, the source indicated that the banks had borrowed amounts in US dollars from BDL, the repayment of which was made by direct debits from their own dollar accounts with the central bank.
In addition to Mr. Sehnaoui, who is abroad, Aoun had planned to hear the CEO of BLOM Bank, Saad Azhari, yesterday. He had been summoned on Monday, but had presented a medical report to justify his absence. Judge Aoun then postponed the summons by three days. However, it was the deputy general manager of BLOM Bank, Amine Aouad, who appeared yesterday in place Azhari.
It is not known whether Aoun will be notified of an appeal presented by Sehnaoui by next Monday. She had planned to hear the testimony of the boss of Cedrus Bank, former Minister Raed Khoury, and of Ali Hjeij, CEO of Middle East and Africa Bank (MEAB).
The legal coordinator of The People Want to Reform the System, Haitham Ezzo, pointed out in this regard that his group targets banks and entities without regard for the identity of their shareholders or their possible political affiliation, knowing that Judge Aoun is reputed to be close to the Aounist camp. We know, for example, that Khoury is close to the same camp, although he was summoned like the others. Ezzo also rejected accusations that the group had chosen to file their complaint to Judge Aoun because of its proximity to the Aounists.
“As part of our fight for the restitution of looted funds and against illicit enrichment, we knocked in vain on the doors of other appeal or cassation courts. But, no judge has satisfied our requests for prosecution,” he said. “We want courageous judges who don't just enforce the law against the weak,” he added.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
