People queuing in front of a Bank Audi branch on March 29, 2020 in Lebanon. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Change MPs Mark Daou, Paula Yacoubian, Michel Douaihy, Firas Hamdan and Halime Kaakour submitted a series of questions to the government about judicial proceedings opened in France over an alleged embezzlement case in recent years involving an acquisition by Bank Audi. No further details were provided.
The questions were addressed to Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Justice Minister Adel Nassar, Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank) Gov. Karim Souhaid, as well as the Banking Control Commission, the Central Inspection and "the competent public prosecutors."
The MPs asked whether Lebanese authorities had taken the necessary legal and oversight measures, including examining the possible use of offshore entities, the concealment of the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner of the transactions in question, and the risks to anti-money laundering efforts. Lebanon remains on the Financial Action Task Force grey list, after being relisted in 2024.
They also asked whether BDL, the Banking Control Commission and the Special Investigation Commission reviewed the transaction and acted within their respective mandates.
They questioned the role of the Ministry of Justice and public prosecutors in ensuring international judicial cooperation and the exchange of information with French authorities, to protect Lebanon's interests and ensure the state does not remain a bystander while cases are handled abroad without strict domestic follow-up. The statement did not provide further details on the cases cited.
In January, Souhaid traveled to France, where he held several meetings in Paris with French investigating judge Clemence Olivier to exchange what he described as extremely sensitive information linked to legal proceedings involving BDL.
These proceedings concern several alleged embezzlement cases in recent years, including those involving the company Forry Associates, in which former governor Riad Salameh and some of his family members are being prosecuted in Lebanon and abroad.
A few days earlier, Souhaid held a news conference in which he announced the trip and said the central bank would join legal actions in several cases involving the alleged embezzlement of its funds since the start of the financial crisis.
While the governor did not elaborate, according to L'Orient Today's information, this step is part of a preliminary investigation opened last September by the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office in Paris against former Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his associates.
The probe is based on a complaint filed by anti-corruption organizations and targets the circumstances under which the Mikati brothers entered the capital of Bank Audi in 2010 and the conditions under which the bank granted $300 million in loans.
