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Salameh is widely regarded by many as the person behind Lebanon’s current economic crisis, which is leading people to face shortages of food, medicine, and fuel
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It has already claimed the big political casualty of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, who stepped down on Thursday
Anti-corruption judges in France have taken over a probe into the personal wealth of Lebanon’s central bank chief Riad Salameh, who may face money-laundering charges there, said local reports on Saturday, July 17.
Salameh is widely regarded by many as the person behind Lebanon’s current economic crisis, which is leading people to face shortages of food, medicine, and fuel.
It has already claimed the big political casualty of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, who stepped down on Thursday.
Salameh, meanwhile, is facing fresh problems after being blamed for the massive devaluation of the Lebanese pound and running what many consider a Ponzi scheme that brought down the country’s banking system.
A former Merryl Lynch banker, Salameh is being probed for whether he funneled off funds from Lebanon to France — where he owns quite a bit of property — in 2019.
This was at a time when the common Lebanese national was expressly forbidden from doing so.
French anti-corruption judges will probe whether this was the case, and could call Salameh to cooperate with the investigation.
They could also force him to cooperate with legal authorities from other countries. Salameh is already under the scanner in Switzerland for financial irregularities.
Lebanon, meanwhile, continues to struggle as prospective donors continue to say they will give the country the aid they promised when they see enough reform, or at least a plan, from it to root out corruption.