Beirut (Agencies)
Three judicial sources in Lebanon announced that the former governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, was arrested yesterday in Beirut on charges of committing financial crimes related to a brokerage company, in his first arrest after years of accusations.
Salameh, 73, served as governor of Lebanon’s central bank for 30 years, but his last months were marred by accusations of financial crimes.
A judicial source said that the authorities arrested the former governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon on charges related to a Lebanese company that provided brokerage services related to entry between 2015 and 2018.
Despite facing charges in Lebanon, arrest warrants in France and Germany and a red notice from Interpol, Salameh has never been arrested.
Another judicial source said he would be held for four days in “preventive detention” before the case is transferred to the public prosecutor in Beirut, adding that Salameh was arrested at Lebanon’s Palace of Justice following a hearing into the central bank’s dealings with a company that provides brokerage services linked to entry.
Lebanese Justice Minister Henri Khoury said he had no details about the case, adding, “There is no doubt that the public prosecutor did what was required of him and interrogated former governor Riad Salameh.”
In turn, interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that the government will not interfere in the case.
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