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Decision reached to release Raja Salameh on bail of LL100 billion: judicial source

Decision reached to release Raja Salameh on bail of LL100 billion: judicial source

Raja Salameh, younger brother of BDL chief Riad Salameh. (Credit: Reuters / L'Orient Today)

BEIRUT — A decision has been reached to release Raja Salameh, the brother of Lebanon's central bank governor, on bail of LL100 billion, or around $3.7 million at the parallel market exchange rate, a judicial source confirmed to L'Orient Today.

Here's what we know: 

    • Salameh has been in state custody since his arrest on March 17.  He has been charged with complicity in illicit enrichment by his brother, central bank chief Riad Salameh. Charges have also been brought against Riad Salameh.

    • The brothers have denied the charges against them.

    • The judge that ordered Raja Salameh's release on bail also froze 40 of his properties and banned him from travel, Reuters reported two judicial sources as saying, adding that one of the sources said the bail amount was the highest posted in Lebanon's history.

    • The case, brought against the Salamehs by Judge Ghada Aoun, relates to the alleged purchase and rental of Paris apartments by the Salameh brothers, including the rental of some to the central bank, Aoun previously told Reuters. A hearing for Riad Salameh in the case is scheduled for June 9.

   • Governor for nearly three decades, Riad Salameh, 71, has previously attributed his wealth to the investment of money made while he was a banker at Merrill Lynch before he became governor in 1993. His tenure has faced increased scrutiny since the financial system imploded in 2019, the most destabilizing crisis since Lebanon's 1975-90 Civil War.

    • Riad Salameh faces other investigations, including a Swiss inquiry over alleged aggravated money laundering at the central bank involving $300 million in gains by a company owned by Raja Salameh that has led to probes in at least four other European countries. The Salameh brothers have also denied wrongdoing in that case.

BEIRUT — A decision has been reached to release Raja Salameh, the brother of Lebanon's central bank governor, on bail of LL100 billion, or around $3.7 million at the parallel market exchange rate, a judicial source confirmed to L'Orient Today.Here's what we know:     • Salameh has been in state custody since his arrest on March 17.  He has been charged with complicity in...