: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during an interview for Reuters Next conference, in Beirut, Lebanon on Nov. 23, 2021. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Mount Lebanon Prosecuting Judge Arlette Tabet issued a decision on Thursday to postpone until December Banque du Liban chief Riad Salameh’s hearing on accusations of embezzlement.
Here’s what we know:
• Salameh did not show up for a scheduled appearance before the magistrate last March. The lead investigating judge at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeals Nicolas Mansour then postponed the hearing to June 9.
• Salameh is implicated in investigations into financial misconduct in several jurisdictions, including France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In Lebanon, Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun charged Riad Salameh with illicit enrichment in connection to apartments acquired in France by the BDL governor, as well as real estate offices rented by the central bank from a former companion of the governor on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
• In April, Salameh told Swiss television station SRF 1 that he is ready and willing “to travel to Switzerland to testify” in the ongoing money laundering case against him, claiming that the allegations against him are “politically motivated.”
• His brother, Raja Salameh is also being prosecuted for his involvement in this investigation, as is Anna Kosakova, the former companion in question. Three companies, SCI ZEL, Eciffice and BET SA, are also being prosecuted in this context.