Riad Salameh case: Third round of hearings

On Tuesday, Beirut’s Chief Investigating Judge, Bilal Halawi, interrogated officials from the Central Bank (BDL) and lawyer Marwan Issa al-Khoury, nephew of former central bank governor Riad Salmeh. According to sources, those questioned included Pierre Kanaan, the Director of Legal Affairs at the BDL, Naaman Naddour, head of the Foreign Exchange Operations Department, and Majida Machnouk, Secretary General of the bank.

Khoury was later questioned by Maya Zeghrini, a representative of the Beirut Bar Association, following a request by the Financial Prosecutor’s Office on Sept. 5 to lift his immunity. According to information obtained by L’Orient-Le Jour, the Bar Association is expected to meet on Wednesday to decide on lifting the immunity of Khoury, as well as that of lawyer Micky Tueni, who was questioned as a witness by Judge Halawi on Sept. 12.

Tueni was also due to appear on Tuesday before Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Ghada Aoun, but did not attend, with sources saying that no hearing was scheduled. Aoun questioned Tueni on Sept. 12, likely regarding financial transfers under investigation by Judge Halawi. Tueni reportedly promised to submit documents to clear any suspicion against him.

Salmeh’s lawyer plans legal action

Meanwhile, Salmeh’s lawyer, Marc Habka, is preparing to file a lawsuit against Judge Ghada Aoun, arguing that two judges cannot preside over the same case and question the same individuals. In June, the Head of the Court of Cassation’s Public Prosecutor’s Office, Jamal Hajjar, removed Aoun from financial cases, ordering her to transfer them to him and barring the Judicial Police from executing her instructions, including search and arrest warrants.

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Behind Riad Salameh’s case, a ‘black box’ could rock BDL

Another judge, Helene Iskandar, head of the State Litigation Department, was also barred from interfering in Judge Halawi’s investigation. The Beirut Indictment Chamber, presided over by Maher Cheaito, rejected Iskandar’s appeal to attend Salmeh’s interrogation on Sept. 9.

The court stated that it could not review cases involving Salmeh due to an ongoing liability claim against the state, filed by Salmeh in August 2023. The chamber referred the case to the president of the Beirut Court of Appeal to assign a suitable judge to review Iskandar’s appeal.

Uncertainty over jurisdiction

The court did not mention the name of the Court of Appeal’s presiding judge, Habib Rizkallah, who is also subject to a similar liability claim by Salmeh. Rizkallah had previously appointed Ayman Oueidat, head of the 11th Chamber of the Court of Appeal, to handle the case, but Oueidat was also targeted by the same legal action.

Before receiving official notice, Oueidat appointed Samir Akiki to take over.

In a separate move, Iskandar sought to join the criminal proceedings initiated by the Financial Prosecutor’s Office as a civil party on Sept. 5. However, Judge Halawi rejected her request, citing a lack of authorization from Finance Minister Youssef Khalil. Though Khalil did not respond this time, a judicial source noted that he granted approval in a similar case last year, involving the “Forry Associates” affair, advising Iskandar to act as she saw fit.

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. It was translated by Sahar Ghoussoub.