View taken from the salle des pas perdus at Beirut's Justice Palace, looking towards the upper floors. (Credot: C.A.)
The interim first investigating judge in Beirut, Bilal Halawi, postponed the hearing in the Optimum Invest case, involving former central bank governor Riad Salameh, to Tuesday, Oct. 29. Salameh is allegedly implicated in the brokerage firm’s activities.
The hearing was set to focus on the testimonies of lawyers Micky Tueni, an advisor to the central bank, and Marwan Issa al-Khoury, Salameh’s nephew. Both are linked to bank transfers, totaling around $44 million, made from Optimum Invest to the central bank’s “consultations” account and to their personal accounts. Salameh, Tueni and al-Khoury deny any wrongdoing.
Salameh has been in custody since Sept. 3, while the other two, initially summoned as witnesses, now face prosecution by the financial prosecutor’s office.
This follows the Beirut Bar Association’s decision in September to lift their immunity. Tueni did not appeal the decision, unlike al-Khoury, whose appeal was dismissed by the court of appeal presided over by Ayman Oueidat on Thursday morning.
Thursday’s session did not address the substance of the case due to a procedural issue: The law firm led by former minister Ibrahim Najjar, representing the central bank, has yet to receive authorization from Beirut Bar Association head Fadi Masri to join the case as a civil party against Tueni and al-Khoury.
According to a courthouse source who spoke to L’Orient-Le Jour, Masri received a request from Najjar on Oct. 7 and intends to grant it without waiting for the one-month legal deadline for a decision.
Another informed source indicated that Tueni and al-Khoury did not appear personally before Halawi. Both intended to present procedural objections, which the law allows them to submit through their lawyers. However, their lawyers were unable to file these objections with the judge, as the central bank’s legal team had not yet obtained the authorization to sue the two colleagues, meaning the objections could not be formally notified.
Helene Iskandar seeks to join the case
While the central bank was permitted to join the Optimum Invest case, the same cannot be said for the Justice Ministry’s Cases Authority, which is responsible for defending the state’s interests. Its head, Helene Iskandar, requested Judge Halawi’s permission to become a civil party in the case and attend the hearings. Halawi, however, rejected her request, citing her failure to present authorization from the finance minister and to prove her eligibility to join the case.
Iskandar challenged the decision before the Beirut Court of Appeal, which dismissed her appeal on procedural grounds, noting that the judge’s refusal was delivered orally rather than in writing.
A judicial source informed L’Orient-Le Jour that last Thursday, Iskandar submitted a new written request to join the proceedings against Tueni and al-Khoury. However, Halawi has yet to act on her request to have the filing recorded.
Forry Associates case
Iskandar is also seeking to participate in the proceedings involving Forry Associates Ltd. Between 2002 and 2015, the brokerage firm allegedly secured $330 million in commissions from the sale of financial securities issued by the central bank. The accused, including Salameh, his brother Raja, and former assistant Marianne Hoayek, deny any wrongdoing related to the alleged embezzlement of these funds.
To seek the restitution of funds on behalf of the state in the event of a conviction, Iskandar joined the case in March 2023, shortly after the public prosecutor filed charges.
She appealed a decision by former Beirut Chief Investigating Judge Charbel Abou Samra, who had allowed Salameh to remain at liberty following questioning on Aug. 3, 2023. Her appeal was upheld, but given the numerous legal challenges filed by Salameh, she opted to withdraw from the annulment of the ex-governor’s release, requesting that the case be reassigned to Halawi, who succeeded Abou Samra.
The Beirut Court of Appeal, presided over by Nassib Elia — who faced no legal challenge from Salameh — accepted her request on Oct. 8. As a result, the investigation into the Forry Associates case will proceed under Halawi, who has not yet scheduled a hearing date.
A judicial source told our publication that after his initial request for release was rejected last month by the chief investigating judge, Salameh has recently submitted a new application for release. Halawi is said to have referred the request to the Court of Cassation’s public prosecutor for an advisory opinion.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient Le-Jour.