BEIRUT — The lawyer for Riad Salameh, the former governor of Banque du Liban (BDL), has submitted a fourth request for his release to the Lebanese judiciary after the rejection of three previous requests, a source familiar with the case said. Salameh, who led the central bank from 1993 to 2023, appeared visibly fatigued during the hearing.

The third request, which was denied by Beirut’s interim first investigating judge, Bilal Halawi, had been filed on Dec. 17.

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

Salameh, who was placed in temporary detention and later arrested in late September, is facing charges of financial misconduct related to an account called "Consultation Account" within the BDL, a case better known as the Optimum Invest case.

Lawyers Micky Tueni and Marwan Issa al-Khoury, also implicated in the case, have been released on bail. Both deny any wrongdoing, as does Salameh, who has consistently rejected the accusations against him both in Lebanon and abroad.