Central bank's governor Riad Salameh on Dec. 20, 2021 in Beirut. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — Banque du Liban governor Riad Salameh will soon face prosecution in Lebanon, a senior Lebanese judicial source told L'Orient-Le Jour on Tuesday.
According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the planned judicial step is part of a desire by the judiciary to preserve "the rights of the state and the Lebanese," in the face of appeals that target Salameh's fortune abroad and that put the state at risk of losing assets that were allegedly embezzled in Lebanon.
On Monday, the Swiss financial regulator announced that it had investigated 12 Lebanese banks and launched enforcement proceedings against two of them as part of the investigation into corruption charges against Salameh.
Lebanese authorities had launched charges on Feb. 23 against Salameh, his brother Raja and one of his assistants for money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment, after months of delay in this high-profile case.
The Salameh brothers are accused of transferring $330 million to Swiss accounts via the offshore company Forry Associates Ltd, registered in the British Virgin Islands, according to the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung. Substantial sums were used to buy real estate in several European Union countries, the newspaper said.
Some $250 million was deposited in Raja Salameh's personal account at the HSBC branch in Geneva, the newspaper said. Other sums were deposited at UBS, Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, EFG and Pictet.
The Salameh brothers have denied any wrongdoing since the opening of multiple investigations against them, in Lebanon and in several European countries. Questioned by Reuters on Feb. 23, the governor once again claimed his innocence, saying that the accusations were "not an indictment" and pledged to respect the judicial process.