Raja Salameh. (Credit: NNA)
Raja Salameh, the brother of former governor of the Banque du Liban (BDL) Riad Salameh, was indicted on Friday as part of the investigations in Paris into suspected illicitly acquired Lebanese assets, his lawyer and a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday.
Raja Salameh was questioned on Thursday, Aug. 1, and Friday, Aug. 2, by the investigating judges overseeing the judicial inquiry that has been ongoing since July 2021 at the financial division of the Paris judicial court, according to a source close to the case.
At the end of the interrogation, Raja Salameh was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit offenses (embezzlement of public funds by a public official to the detriment of the State of Lebanon, aggravated breach of trust, active and passive corruption of a public official, concealment and organized money laundering of these offenses), as well as organized money laundering, the judicial source detailed. He has been placed under judicial control, which includes the obligation to post bail.
He 'will demonstrate the baselessness of the charges'
“Over two days, Raja Salameh answered all the questions posed by the investigating judges, aiming to contribute to uncovering the truth,” said his lawyer Karim Beylouni.
“Raja Salameh denies having committed any offense, particularly any involvement in the alleged embezzlement of public funds. He wants the entire matter to be thoroughly investigated and is confident he will prove the baselessness of the accusations against him and his family,” he added.
In a statement to L'Orient-Le Jour, Beylouni said that the indictment allows his client to access the case file and exercise his right to defense. “Raja Salameh has always made himself available to the judiciary, and he will continue to do so,” the lawyer stated.
As for the judicial control placed on Riad Salameh's brother, it appears not to have prevented him from leaving France. According to an informed source, he may have already returned to Lebanon.
Along with his brother Riad Salameh, who led the Banque du Liban (BDL) from 1993 until July 2023, and several associates, Raja Salameh is suspected of accumulating substantial real estate and banking assets in Europe through a complex financial scheme, including massive embezzlement of Lebanese public funds. Riad Salameh denies these allegations, insisting he amassed his fortune while working at the American investment bank Merrill Lynch.
He is the subject of an international arrest warrant issued after he failed to respond to a summons from the investigating judge for a possible indictment in May 2023. Six other people are also facing charges in this case: a former assistant to Salameh at the BDL, a close associate and a nephew of Salameh, former minister Marwan Kheireddine, the head of a Lebanese auditing firm and a person with a "secondary role," according to the judicial source. Proceedings are ongoing regarding these allegations of illicit assets in Lebanon and other European countries.
In an interview with L'Orient-Le Jour published on July 11, William Bourdon, lawyer for the Sherpa association and the collective of victims of fraudulent and criminal practices in Lebanon, stated that “the main development (in this case) is that the BDL, represented by its lawyer in Paris, has officially requested to join the case as a civil party. This positions the BDL as a victim of Riad Salameh's actions and preserves its right to recover any potential seizures following the trial and the issuance of judgments.”
