The former governor of the Banque du Liban (BDL), Riad Salameh. (Credit: AFP)
The first examining magistrate of Mount Lebanon, Nicolas Mansour, has scheduled a new hearing for June 29 to review the case filed by former Chief Prosecutor Ghada Aoun — before her retirement on March 1, 2025 — against the brokerage firm Optimum Invest, former central bank governor Riad Salameh, and several banks and their presidents.
The case involves $8 billion allegedly embezzled through transactions between the central bank and Optimum Invest. Both Salameh and the brokerage firm have denied any wrongdoing.
During Thursday’s hearing, only the lawyers representing the summoned parties attended, including those for Salameh, former interim central bank governor Wassim Manssouri, and the presidents of the three banks involved — Bank Audi, Al-Mawarid Bank, and Banque Misr Liban. Manssouri’s lawyer raised procedural objections, while the other attorneys, along with Optimum Invest’s lawyer, requested additional time to present their objections. The next hearing is set for June 29.
A 2023 forensic audit by the international firm Alvarez & Marsal on the central bank’s accounts prompted Aoun to launch her investigation. The report alleged significant financial mismanagement at the central bank between 2015 and 2019. The magistrate cited fund transfers from the central bank’s “consultation account” to commercial bank accounts whose beneficiaries could not be identified due to the central bank’s refusal to disclose their names. The funds in question allegedly stemmed from the sale of Treasury bills by the central bank to Optimum Invest, which then repurchased them at higher prices within a short period.
In filing the case, Aoun cited articles of the penal code related to corruption and embezzlement, as well as Lebanon’s illicit enrichment law.