Street art in Beirut depicting former Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salemeh. Nov. 19, 2022. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
- Riad Salameh was arrested on Tuesday more than a year after his departure from the Banque du Liban (BDL) over charges related to the Optimum Invest case. Salameh is accused of facilitating transactions between the BDL and the Lebanese financial firm in 2015 and 2016, allowing him to embezzle at least $40 million in public funds.
He is also the subject of multiple investigations into alleged financial misconduct, including those led by Judge Ghada Aoun, the Attorney General at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeals. Additionally, Salameh faces corruption charges in several European countries.
- Lebanon's Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) saw another decline again in August, down to 47.9 points from 48.3 in July, according to the latest update published on Wednesday by BlomInvest. After the assassination of Fouad Shukur, a high-ranking Hezbollah officer, by Israel on July 30 in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and that of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas political leader, in Teheran the following day, tension rose several notches in the Middle East, heavily impacting the security situation in Lebanon.
- Lebanese entrepreneurship-support organization Berytech is teaming up with ANIMA Investment Network and Invest Cyprus, a national investment promotion agency, to help Lebanese entrepreneurs and stakeholders tap into funds set up by the European Union, liaise with the parties involved, and expand into the European market.
Launched a year ago and funded by the European Union, Berytech’s new program “Lebanon Innovate” — which will be implemented over three years and a half — aims to support the transformation of innovations and technological findings emerging from universities into market-ready products and commercial ventures to boost the Lebanese productive sectors, focusing on information and communication technology (ICT), agri-food and healthcare.
- The prices of gasoline and diesel continue to decline, while the price of domestic gas remained stable after a slight increase on Tuesday, according to the new price list published by the Energy Ministry.
Here are the new rates:
Feature of the week
After four years of economic turmoil and endless roller coasters, the Lebanese lira has finally experienced a year of stability at around LL89,500-to-the-dollar since caretaker central bank governor Wissam Mansouri took office in August 2023.
However, in its latest report released on Aug. 19, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) put forward forecasts that suggest the lira may be headed toward another round of fluctuations — and an eventual depreciation, again. A claim that is also echoed by a number of analysts calling for economic reforms and viable plans. Read this week’s feature:
