Longtime chief of Lebanon's Central Bank Riad Salameh, poses as he leaves office after a 30-year tenure, at Lebanon's Central Bank building in Beirut, Lebanon July 31, 2023. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/ Reuters)
BEIRUT — Former Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salameh is the subject of a new arrest warrant in a case involving financial operations linked to Bank Audi, in which he is being prosecuted alongside former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna.
The case concerns operations related to the 2010 acquisition of Bank Audi shares by brothers Nagib and Taha Mikati. To finance the purchase of around 11 % of the bank’s capital — a stake that was later increased to 14 % — the brothers notably obtained $300 million in loans from Bank Audi itself. At the time, the operation received special treatment from the BDL, then headed by Riad Salameh, which did not consolidate the brothers’ stakes as a single shareholding.
The complaint, filed by the BDL in January, notably concerns transactions in which securities were allegedly subscribed to by the central bank through companies, with Bank Audi shares provided as collateral. These operations allegedly resulted in significant financial losses, as central bank funds were placed with companies that later turned out to be either fictitious or in financial difficulty.
According to our information, after questioning Salameh for more than three hours, investigative Judge Sheherazad Nasser issued the new arrest warrant against the former governor. Nasser is on duty during the judicial recess and is standing in for Roula Osman, Beirut’s first investigative judge, who is handling the case.
More than three hours of questioning
Salameh, who is currently hospitalized at Dahr el-Bachek Hospital, was reportedly in poor health Wednesday morning, and his doctors had refused to allow him to attend the questioning at the Beirut Palace of Justice. However, he insisted on going himself, according to a source close to the case.
Judge Nasser questioned Salameh from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Salameh’s lawyer Wassim Ghaoui, the BDL’s lawyer Shoucri Haddad and Bertha Naim, who represents the State Litigation Department, all present. The department became a civil party to the case on Wednesday.
Another source said the BDL’s lawyers were present but that only Salameh was questioned during the hearing. At the end of the session, Haddad and Ghaoui were allowed to submit questions to the judge, who then put them to Salameh on their behalf.
A hearing for Hanna in the same case is scheduled for Aug. 20. Following his questioning, the investigative judge must decide what action to take next, including whether to refer the file to the prosecutor general at the Court of Appeal, who will determine whether prosecution is warranted.
Salameh’s lawyer plans to appeal Judge Nasser’s decision and has 24 hours to do so before the Beirut Indictment Chamber, according to our information. The appeal concerns the decision to issue an arrest warrant against Salameh and not, at this stage, the substance of the allegations against him.
The defense could challenge the need for the warrant given Salameh’s current situation: he is banned from traveling, his assets are subject to precautionary measures, and he no longer holds any position at Banque du Liban.
This is the fourth arrest warrant of its kind issued by a Lebanese investigative judge against Salameh since September 2024, following warrants issued by Bilal Halaoui in the Optimum Invest case, Nicolas Mansour in the French real estate case and Roula Sfeir following a complaint filed by depositor Talal Abou Ghazaleh.
