A Creditbank branch barricaded in Saida, on March 1, 2023. (Credit: Archived photo by Mountasser Abdallah/L’Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — Beirut's first investigating judge, Bilal Halawi, on Tuesday issued two arrest warrants in the Creditbank corruption case, a senior judicial source told L'Orient Today.
The warrants targeted the bank's former general manager, Nayla Zeidan, and Ralph Sayad, an adviser to former CEO Tarek Khalifeh. The two suspects were questioned by Judge Halawi on Tuesday and face charges of bank theft, misappropriation of depositors' funds and money laundering, the source said.
Khalifeh has been in custody since July 2 after being detained on the order of the Court of Cassations' public prosecutor, Jamal Hajjar, who accused Khalifeh of embezzlement and document forgery. Sayad was also taken into custody the same day, while Zeidan was arrested three days later in what the source described as a "targeted" operation in Roumieh.
The three Creditbank executives are being prosecuted over a budget deficit of around $309 million in so-called “lollars” (bank dollars at a rate of 15,000 Lebanese lira to the dollar) at the bank. Khalifeh is accused of embezzling bank funds and falsifying documents submitted to the Special Investigation Commission (SIC) at Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank).
Just over a year ago, Hajjar had given Khalifeh a deadline to settle the missing funds in so-called "fresh dollars" (regular dollars), as he reported ongoing negotiations with the central bank. According to a source familiar with the case, Khalifeh had reached a deal with BDL to make an initial payment of $10 million within six months, followed by a second payment of around $20 million over 15 to 18 months. The agreement was never finalized, and no initial payment was made.
Lebanon has been mired in a severe financial and socio-economic crisis since 2019, with banks imposing tight restrictions on withdrawals, especially in dollars, sparking widespread public anger among depositors. A bill to restructure the banking sector is currently under discussion in Parliament and is seen by the international community as a key step to restoring confidence in the banking system and unlocking foreign aid.
