Former BDL governor Riad Salameh. (Credits: Joseph Eid/AFP)
The arrest warrant issued against Riad Salameh, former Banque du Liban (BDL) governor, by a German court over a year ago was annulled on June 10 by the 7th Chamber of the Munich Regional Court, according to a source close to the international cases against Salameh.
A Lebanese magistrate explained to L’Orient Today that the legal procedures, including notifying Salameh, were not properly followed by the German prosecutor, resulting in errors and omissions.
In February, the Munich prosecutor confirmed the existence of this arrest warrant issued in May 2023 on suspicions of money laundering, which Reuters had reported months earlier. The prosecutor indicated that part of an estimated €150 million was funneled into Europe via a shell company in the British Virgin Islands, and later invested in real estate globally, including Germany. The prosecutor's office also reported the confiscation of three commercial properties in Munich and Hamburg worth about €28 million, and the seizure of shares worth about €7 million in a Düsseldorf-based real estate company.
According to a legal expert close to the case, the Munich Regional Court ruled on June 10 to annul the warrant, based on an appeal by Salameh, citing non-compliance with the legal criteria required for issuing an arrest warrant.
“The conditions for an arrest warrant include absconding and concealment of documents,” the expert explained, “Riad Salameh neither absconded nor concealed documents.”
“German justice will communicate its decision to Interpol, which is supposed to cancel the red notice issued following the arrest warrant,” the expert theorized.
However, this does not exonerate Salameh, as he still faces ongoing investigations. Experts agree that the annulment of the arrest warrant does not mean he is no longer under investigation. He will only be cleared when Germany decides to drop its charges and release his assets. It is speculated that Salameh cited the withdrawal of his passport by Lebanese authorities to justify his non-appearance, demonstrating that he is not a fugitive. The ex-governor still denies all accusations against him.
Regarding the possibility of a similar measure being taken in France, where Salameh is also subject to an Interpol arrest warrant issued in May 2023, the same source believes it is highly unlikely. The French prosecutor had requested to hear from Salameh before his passport was withdrawn, but he failed to attend the hearing.
To this accusation, a legal expert familiar with the international case counters that “by summoning Riad Salameh less than 10 days before the scheduled date of questioning (May 16, 2023), the Paris judicial court had not respected the legal deadlines.”
“The summons was therefore invalid,” he insists.
In any case, “there will be no reversal of European justice,” believes an informed observer. In Luxembourg, for example, the Chambre du Conseil of the Tribunal D’Arrondissement recently rejected a request by Salameh to lift the seizure of his assets. The court justified its decision in a statement, a copy of which was made available to L’Orient Today, because “the assets for which restitution is requested are likely to constitute the proceeds of the offenses under investigation, so that (they) are liable to subsequent confiscation by the judge hearing the case. To ensure that any such confiscation is carried out, and to safeguard the rights of the civil parties (...), the Council Chamber decides not to grant the request for restitution."
