Lebanese authorities announced the arrest of Creditbank’s CEO, Nayla Zeidane, during a “targeted” operation ordered by the Attorney General near the Court of Cassation, Jamal Hajjar, according to a statement released by the official National News Agency (NNA).
Zeidane had been “missing since the arrest of the bank’s former chairman and CEO, Tarek Khalifeh, and one of his advisors, Ralph Sayyed, on Wednesday,” the statement added.
“After 24 hours of intensive surveillance, the unit in charge of the operation raided the location where the CEO was hiding, in Roumieh. She was arrested along with the person who helped her conceal herself. Both were then brought before the specialized public prosecutor’s office, where they are being questioned by Judge Jamal Hajjar. Depending on the investigation results, appropriate decisions will be taken regarding them,” the source said.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Nayla Zeidane has spent at least 30 years in the banking sector, holding various positions. She became CEO in February 2021, at a time when Lebanon was already plunged into the crisis that began at the end of 2019.
Tarek Khalifeh and his advisor were arrested following an interrogation in connection with a case involving a deficit of approximately 309 million banking dollars (or ‘lollars,’ at an exchange rate of 15,000 Lebanese pounds per dollar) in Creditbank’s accounts. According to a source at the Palace of Justice, the former CEO was to be questioned “without a defined procedural status,” meaning he was neither charged, nor accused, nor a witness, but considered a “person concerned by the facts.”
The banker is suspected of embezzling funds belonging to the bank and falsifying documents submitted to the Special Investigation Commission (CSI) of the Banque du Liban (BDL). This “preventive” arrest can be extended up to four days.
A little over a year ago, Judge Hajjar had granted Khalifeh a deadline after he claimed to be negotiating with the BDL to settle the missing funds in ‘fresh dollars.’
Before the crisis, Creditbank was classified among the Lebanese Alfa banks, meaning those holding more than two billion dollars in deposits each.
Log in to your account to see the results of the polls ...
