Lebanon ‘files new lawsuit against’ ex-central bank chief Riad Salameh

What the report says

Lebanese judicial sources say authorities have brought a new case against former central bank governor Riad Salameh, this time alongside former Bank Audi head Samir Hanna, over alleged financial crimes. According to Reuters and AFP reporting cited by Al Jazeera, the accusations include embezzlement and illicit enrichment tied to funds from Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban. The reports say a judge accused both men of taking tens of millions of dollars, and that the file also alleges Hanna bribed Salameh while he was in office.

The case is notable because it appears to widen Lebanon’s long-running investigations into Salameh beyond the public sector and into a major commercial bank. A source cited by Reuters said this is the first time a commercial banker has been indicted in a financial-crimes case connected to Salameh. Hanna, who is 88, reportedly paid $1 million bail and is not in custody. Salameh, 76, has previously been indicted and arrested in Lebanon in other cases, and he has denied wrongdoing.

Salameh led Lebanon’s central bank from 1993 to 2023 and has been a central figure in the country’s financial collapse and the broader public backlash over banking-sector misconduct. Al Jazeera’s report also notes that he has faced probes in France, Switzerland and Germany, while Lebanon’s current central bank governor said in January that a criminal complaint had been filed over alleged misuse of public funds through offshore shell companies.