Riad Salameh to be questioned Wednesday by Court of Appeal; lawyers contest BDL's standing

Former Banque du Liban governor Riad Salameh, who is being prosecuted along with former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna in a lawsuit filed by the central bank, will be heard for the first time Wednesday by the Beirut investigative chamber. The two men were recently referred to this court by the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation before being indicted for financial offenses.

According to a judicial source, Judge Sheherazade Nasser, the duty judge, will begin the proceedings, as Beirut's first investigative judge, Rula Osman, is currently on vacation. It is possible that Salameh lawyers will present a medical excuse citing the former governor's deteriorating health, but there is no guarantee so far that this request will be accepted.

The BDL's complaint, filed last January by current governor Karim Souhaid, concerns securities that Banque du Liban allegedly subscribed to in companies, with collateral reportedly constituted by Bank Audi shares. These alleged operations are said to have caused significant financial losses by placing central bank funds with entities that later proved to be fictitious or in financial difficulty.

In a statement from his attorneys, Salameh's defense expressed "surprise" that Banque du Liban was accepted as a plaintiff in this case, reaffirming that, according to the facts presented in the complaint, the central bank was the sole beneficiary of the transactions in question, earning a profit of $33 million from the operation, which was also approved by the institution's Central Council.

A judicial source close to the BDL, however, considers this argument invalid, given that the complaint is not solely about the operation in question but rather a more complex financial arrangement with hazier legal boundaries, of which this transaction is only one element and in which the former governor allegedly failed to meet some of his obligations.

His lawyers also argue that the events at the heart of the proceedings are time-barred and that Salameh has already been heard and presented his defense in this case. They say they are awaiting developments in the investigation to ensure the judiciary is protected from possible pressures and call for Salameh's age and health to be considered to justify applying Article 111 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows the judge to place the former governor under judicial supervision instead of detention. They note that he has already faced a travel ban in a previous case and had his passport confiscated.

The public prosecutor at the Beirut Court of Appeal, Judge Raja Hamoush, has initiated proceedings against Salameh and former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna in a case involving financial and monetary offenses.

Pursued in multiple corruption cases in Lebanon and abroad, while continuing to deny any responsibility for the alleged offenses, Salameh was arrested July 31 at Bhannès Hospital, where he had been admitted when he was supposed to be questioned by the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Ahmad Rami Hajjar.