The former governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh. (Screenshot taken in July 2023 from the LBCI website)
The first investigative judge in Beirut, Bilal Halawi, scheduled a new hearing for Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the case of the "consultation account" of the Central Bank, more commonly known as Optimum Invest, a brokerage firm. The former governor of the Central Bank (BDL), Riad Salameh, is allegedly involved in bank transfers of $44 million to private accounts, although he denies all accusations.
The hearing is expected to focus on the testimony of Salameh as well as two lawyers, Micky Tueni and Marwan Issa al-Khoury, who are also alleged to be involved in the transfers in question and deny any wrongdoing. Their immunity was lifted last September by the Bar Association, following a request from the financial prosecutor's office concerning specific crimes. The prosecutor's office later launched proceedings against the two bar members for new alleged offenses, which led them to appeal a decision by Judge Halawi to investigate without a new authorization from the Bar Association.
The Beirut Court of Indictment, presided over by Judge Nassib Elia, where they appealed, then demanded specific authorization from the Bar for the new offenses alleged by the prosecutor's office. On Dec. 6, 2024, a new authorization request was made to the Bar without providing new documents on which the Bar wanted to base its decision to lift the immunities. On Jan. 8, the prosecutor's office reportedly responded that, as it was part of the same case, the documents sent during the first authorization were valid for this second request. A judicial source told L'Orient-Le Jour that the Bar has 30 days to respond. If a new authorization is granted, or if the Bar does not respond, Judge Halawi could investigate the entire case. However, if the Bar refuses authorization, the magistrate could only investigate the already-raised crimes.
The two lawyers were already summoned, as well as Salameh, who is currently hospitalized at Bhannes Hospital. His presence at the hearing will depend on his medical status.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.