The former governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — The attorney general at the Court of Cassation, Judge Ahmad Rami Hajjar, on Saturday ordered the transfer of the former governor of Banque du Liban (BDL, Central Bank), Riad Salameh, from Bhannès Hospital to Roumieh prison, a senior judicial source told L’Orient-Le Jour. Pursued in several corruption cases both in Lebanon and abroad, Salameh is now being held in Roumieh while remaining under medical supervision, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. If his condition deteriorates, he may be transferred back to a hospital, NNA added.
Governor of the BDL from 1993 until July 2023, Salameh, 76, has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He was arrested Friday at Bhannès Hospital, where he had gone after a search warrant was issued against him the previous day by the Court of Cassation prosecutor's office. The warrant followed his failure to appear for questioning in connection with a complaint filed by current BDL governor Karim Souhaid. Salameh cited medical reasons for his absence, but the prosecutor's office said it was unable to verify that claim and concluded that he had refused to appear. Security forces had also been unable to locate him at his known residences.
The complaint, which also targets former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna, concerns securities that the BDL allegedly subscribed to in companies backed by guarantees consisting of Bank Audi shares. According to the complaint, these transactions caused significant financial losses by placing central bank funds in entities that later proved to be fictitious or financially distressed. After his hearing on Thursday, Hanna was released after posting $1 million bail.
Souhaid has served as BDL governor since spring 2025. He was appointed after vice governor Wassim Manssouri served as interim governor for nearly two years following the end of Salameh's term. Salameh is widely considered one of the key figures responsible for the financial crisis that erupted in Lebanon in late 2019.
Arrested in September 2024, Salameh was charged with the alleged embezzlement of $44 million from the central bank. He was released a year later after posting a record bail of more than $14 million but was barred from leaving the country. According to our sources, his health deteriorated significantly during that period.
Since May 2023, Salameh has also been the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by the French judiciary. He is suspected of amassing an extensive real estate and banking portfolio in Europe and the United States through a complex financial scheme involving the alleged embezzlement of Lebanese public funds, with the complicity of numerous individuals.
