Gebran Bassil and Ghada Aoun criticize Salameh's release, question origins of bail money

BEIRUT — Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil and former prosecutor Ghada Aoun strongly criticized the release on Friday of former Central Bank governor Riad Salameh, questioning the origins of the funds used to pay his record $14 million bail.

On Friday night, Bassil described Lebanese authorities as “disgraceful” for releasing Salameh, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). He made the remarks during an FPM dinner in Batroun, attended by former President Michel Aoun, MPs and a large crowd of the movement’s supporters.

Salameh, who was arrested on charges of embezzling public funds, was released Friday evening after posting a record $14 million bail. The head of the Cassation Public Prosecutor's Office, Judge Jamal Hajjar, opened an investigation into the origin of the funds to verify their legitimacy. As part of this, investigators went to the Bhannes Hospital in Metn, where Salameh was receiving treatment under tight security, to question him.

"You are the disgraceful authority, releasing Riad Salameh, who stole from the Lebanese, on a bail of $14 million. This case falls under money laundering. Where did he get this sum from? ... No one dares to speak out about Salameh’s case except the FPM, which will continue ... to recover the rights of the Lebanese from Riad Salameh", he said.

Meanwhile, Ghada Aoun addressed the government, parliament, the president, and the Judicial Council in a post on X, asking: “How can one accept the release of Salameh on bail derived from money-laundering? This is extremely serious because it completely destroys Lebanon’s reputation and credibility with the international community and undermines the judiciary.”

The judge also questioned the head of the Cassation Public Prosecutor’s Office, Judge Jamal Hajjar: “Hajjar says he verified the legality of the funds used for the bail. Can we know exactly how you verified that?”

Before her retirement in February 2025, Aoun had filed several charges against Salameh for embezzlement and illicit enrichment.

After spending 30 years as the head of Banque du Liban (BDL), Salameh is facing several criminal charges both internationally and in Lebanon. Many hold him responsible for the 2019 financial crisis, during which depositors lost their life savings as the currency collapsed and banks illegally froze accounts. Lebanon continues to grapple with the aftermath of this crisis.

Raouche Rock incident

The FPM leader also commented on Hezbollah's projection of the images of the group's former Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his successor Hashem Safieddine on Raouche Rock on Thursday for the first anniversary of their assassination despite a government decision banning the projection.

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"We are facing an authority that is powerless when it comes to sovereignty, and the clearest proof of that is what happened in Raouche. You should have either accepted that this rock belongs to all Lebanese, giving them the right to project any image they wish on it, including those of all Lebanon’s martyrs, or stood by your word. Instead, you placed yourselves in an embarrassing position and now want to shift your failure onto the army by putting it in confrontation with its own people", he said.

Diaspora vote

Regarding the diaspora vote in the 2026 parliamentary elections, Bassil called for “not stripping expatriates of their right to overseas MPs,” adding that expatriates gained their right to vote during former President Michel Aoun’s term.

A political debate is underway in Lebanon over the voting rights of Lebanese expatriates. Some politicians want to amend the 2017 electoral law to allow emigrants to vote for all 128 members of Parliament, as was the case in the last two legislative elections. Others — including the FPM and the Amal Movement of Speaker Nabih Berri — want to preserve the current law’s provision creating six additional seats in a 16th constituency for “Lebanese abroad.”