Lebanon ex-central bank chief charged with embezzlement
Lebanon's former central bank chief Riad Salameh was charged Wednesday with embezzling public funds and money laundering a day after his detention, a judicial source said.
On Tuesday, he was questioned over the embezzlement of $40 million and detained for the first time since he left his post at the end of July 2023 at the helm of the central bank.
The financial prosecutor charged Salameh with "embezzling" public funds, as well as "illicit enrichment and money laundering", the judicial source told AFP on condition of anonymity, because they are not authorised to speak to the media.
Salameh, 74, is widely seen as the key culprit in Lebanon's dramatic economic crash which began in late 2019.
The former central bank chief, who held the job from 1993 until last year, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The charges against him came at the end of "preliminary investigations", the judicial source said.
The case has been handed over to an investigating judge who is expected to set a date within the next few hours to further interrogate Salameh, the source said.
Following that the judge will either issue a formal arrest warrant for the ex-central bank chief or decide to release him on bail, the source added.
Since late 2019, Lebanon has been mired in an economic crisis that the World Bank has dubbed one of the worst in modern times, leaving many in poverty.
Salameh is suspected of having amassed a fortune during his three decades as central bank chief, and faces numerous accusations, including tax evasion in separate probes at home and abroad.
He is wanted by authorities in France, where he also holds citizenship, for alleged financial crimes, with Interpol having issued Red Notices targeting him. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens.
Lebanon has frozen Salameh's bank accounts, while Britain, Canada and the United States have slapped sanctions on the former official.
In March 2022, France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked to a probe into Salameh's wealth.
Salameh has repeatedly said his wealth comes from private investment and his work at the American investment firm Merrill Lynch.
Before his judicial troubles, Salameh was largely viewed as the architect of the financial policy that allowed Lebanon to recover from its grinding 1975-1990 civil war.
