Bank accounts of Riad Salameh, his brother, and 9 others frozen in Lebanon

BEIRUT — Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank)’s Special Investigation Commission (SIC) has ordered banks and financial institutions operating in the country to freeze the accounts and assets of 11 individuals and two companies, according to a “confidential” decision dated Sept. 18, 2026, and sent to banks in Lebanon, which L’Orient-Le Jour was able to review.

The authenticity of the document and the names it contains was confirmed to our publication by a source familiar with the matter who wishes to remain anonymous. Two Lebanese bankers also confirmed that banks across the country received BDL’s decision on Tuesday morning.

The 13 names include individuals and companies linked to several separate files, including U.S. sanctions against Hassan Moukalled’s financial network for alleged links to Hezbollah, investigations concerning former BDL Governor Riad Salameh and his brother, as well as former Bank Audi chairman and CEO Samir Hanna.

Who appears on the list?

• Hassan Ahmad Moukalled: A Lebanese money exchanger sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January 2023.
• CTEX Company for Exchange SAL: A Lebanese money-transfer and exchange company owned or controlled by Moukalled and sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury alongside him.
• Andriyah Samir Mushantaf: Sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in May 2024 over his alleged links to CTEX.
• Bachir Ibrahim Mansour: Sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in May 2024 and identified by Washington as linked to CTEX.
• Riad Salameh: Former BDL governor, currently in custody, who is facing several investigations and judicial proceedings in Lebanon and Europe, had already been slapped by previous account-freezing measures in connection with the ongoing cases against him. Even if he is cleared in any of those cases, this new asset freeze would remain in place, according to the source familiar with the matter.
• Raja Salameh: Riad Salameh’s brother and the beneficial owner of Forry Associates, the company at the center of investigations into more than $330 million in commissions paid by BDL. He had also previously been subject to account-freezing measures in connection with other cases. Even if he is cleared in any of those cases, this new asset freeze would remain in place.
• Marianne Hoayek: A former senior BDL official and longtime assistant to Riad Salameh who has been prosecuted in Lebanon in connection with embezzlement affairs linked to the Salameh brothers.
• Samir Hanna: The former chairman and CEO of Bank Audi, prosecuted alongside Riad Salameh in August 2026 over alleged embezzlement and illicit enrichment.
• V Limited Investment Inc., or V-Invest: A Panama-registered company implicated in an investigation concerning approximately $70 million allegedly illegally transferred from BDL.
• Bassem Mahmoud al-Hout: A lawyer and V-Invest executive summoned in connection with the investigation into the company’s transactions.
• Alaa Mahmoud Abdel-Rahim al-Khawaja: A businessman and investor who acquired a 42.24% stake in GroupMed, BankMed’s parent company, in 2017 and was later named in proceedings concerning the financing of the acquisition.
• Mohammad Ahmad Hariri: The former chairman of GroupMed and former chairman and general manager of BankMed, whose name has appeared in proceedings relating to the 2017 GroupMed transaction.
• Samara Kazzi: Managing director of SK3 Capital Ltd in Switzerland, according to her LinkedIn page, her name appears as the final entry in the SIC document. Kazzi, however, denied the authenticity of the document in question, writing on X Tuesday: “It has come to my attention this morning that a document is circulating with my name on it, issued and signed by the SIC, to freeze my accounts in Lebanese banks. The document is fake, and a correction will be issued to the relevant banks!”