Photo of Attorney General of Mount Lebanon, Ghada Aoun (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Ghada Aoun, the Attorney General of Mount Lebanon, announced on X she has scheduled an interrogation for former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh’s on Wednesday, Sept. 11, emphasizing that his presence should be ensured as he is currently in detention.
Judge Aoun had previously initiated several legal proceedings against Salameh over alleged corruption. Public Prosecutor Jamal Hajjar, who ordered Salameh's provisional detention on Tuesday, had in June requested that Aoun transfer all the financial crime files to him, including the one involving Optimum Invest (OI), which is central to the case, which led to Salameh's arrest.
This request was criticized by several observers as an attempt to sideline Aoun.
In a post on X on Friday, Aoun expressed both “surprise and satisfaction” at Salameh’s arrest and highlighted her previous efforts to prosecute him in “major cases.” She noted that the Optimum Invest file, which has been under her jurisdiction for about two years, was opened based on earlier reports and complaints.
Aoun also pointed out that in September 2023, Deputy Elias Jradi and around ten lawyers had filed a private prosecution complaint against Salameh and others.
She added that, in this case “and others,” she has set an interrogation for Salameh next Wednesday, "as he is now detained in the Palace of Justice [in Beirut and] is obligated to attend."
Aoun stressed that if Salameh is not brought in as scheduled, responsibility would fall on Hajjar.
صباح. الاحبة صباح الاوادم صباح يللي عم يناضلوا من اجل استعادة الاموال المنهوبة للشعب اللبناني، أعود واكرر ان ملف اوبتيمونم قد فتح في النيابة العامة في جبل لبنان منذ تاريخ صدور تقرير هيئة الاسواق المالية اي منذ حوالي السنتين وتاسس ايضا بناء على الأخبار الوارد من تقرير الفاريس .وفي…
— Ghada Aoun (@ghadaaoun4) September 6, 2024
In her post on X, Aoun emphasized her “commitment to legal principles and warned against any attempts to reassign the case to another jurisdiction.”