Lebanese actress Stephanie Saliba. (Credit: Stephanie Saliba via Facebook)
BEIRUT — The General Prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, Ghada Aoun, issued a property restriction against Lebanese actress Stephanie Saliba on Thursday, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The restriction prohibits Saliba — who is said to be close to the Governor of the Bank de Liban (BDL), Riad Salameh — from using or selling her properties. The actress is being prosecuted for theft of public funds theft and money laundering, and the cases are being investigated by the Lebanese judiciary and several European countries.
These cases involve, among other things, the purchase of property abroad in favor of people close to Salameh.
The actress, who was the subject of a search warrant issued by Judge Aoun, was briefly arrested on Dec. 9, a few hours after her arrival in Lebanon, before being released.
In early December, a former companion of BDL's governor, Anna Kosakova, was questioned by the French National Prosecutor's Office (PNF) following her indictment in June 2022 for "criminal conspiracy," "organized money laundering" and "aggravated tax fraud laundering" in the case of alleged embezzlement by the BDL to the detriment of the Lebanese state.
Salameh himself has been the subject of a series of judicial investigations both in Lebanon and abroad on suspicion of fraud, money laundering and illicit enrichment, among other allegations. He has repeatedly denied these accusations while refusing to appear in court.