The former governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, photographed in December 2021. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — Another hearing in the case stemming from a complaint filed last January by BDL Governor Karim Souhaid against his predecessor, Riad Salameh, and former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna was postponed. On Thursday, Beirut Investigative Judge Roula Osman set the next hearing for Oct. 1 to rule on procedural objections raised earlier this week by Salameh and Hanna, following legal proceedings initiated against them in early September by Beirut Court of Appeal Prosecutor General Raja Hamoush for alleged violations of the Code of Money and Credit.
The hearing was originally scheduled for Aug. 27 to question Hanna, but was postponed to Sept. 3 to allow him to raise preliminary procedural objections, which were submitted that day. Another hearing was held Thursday, during which a new motion was filed. The Oct. 1 hearing will give BDL time to respond before Judge Osman rules on the objections.
The judge also rejected Thursday a request for Salameh’s release that had been filed the previous day. The former governor has been in custody since July 31 and was transferred from Roumieh prison to Dahr el-Bachek Governmental Hospital in August.
Neither of the two former officials appeared in court Thursday. They were represented by their respective lawyers, May Azoury and Wassim Ghaoui. Also present were Chucri Haddad, counsel for BDL, and Berta Naim, the lawyer representing the State Litigation Department, which joined the complaint filed by Souhaid against Salameh and Hanna.
The complaint concerns a transaction dating back to 2010, when BDL, then headed by Salameh, subscribed to bonds issued by an offshore company, MOSF. As part of the transaction, MOSF acquired a stake in Bank Audi by issuing bonds secured by both the shares acquired and the bank’s credit. BDL reportedly subscribed to the bonds for $153 million, equivalent to the value of the shares in question.
According to our information, the shares were part of a stake held in Bank Audi by the Egyptian company EFG Hermes, which ultimately sold its entire stake in the Lebanese bank for around $900 million. Most of the shares were purchased by a group of investors brought together by Bank Audi.
Souhaid’s complaint is based in part on Lebanese legal provisions prohibiting BDL from holding stakes in private institutions, except in exceptional circumstances related to the stability of the banking sector. Ghaoui, meanwhile, has repeatedly argued in statements, including his latest on Wednesday, that the loan extended as part of the transaction was fully repaid, along with more than $33 million in interest.
