Beirut, Lebanon – Several Lebanese bankers told European prosecutors that commissions now in the middle of a corruption probe had been paid to the central bank, while investigators suspect the cash went to the governor’s brother illegally, Reuters reported quoting four sources.
Prosecutors from Germany, France and Luxembourg have been in Beirut as part of the money laundering investigation.
They suspect central bank governor Riad Salameh and his brother Raja illegally took more than $300 million from the central bank between 2002 and 2015 and invested some of the funds in Europe.
Riad Salameh is widely blamed for policies that have led to the collapse of Lebanon’s economy, but he and his brother have also been accused of embezzling money for personal gain.
The two men deny diverting or laundering government funds and claim that the $300 million was earned legally. The governor, who has been in office for three decades, claims he is being made a scapegoat for Lebanon’s financial crisis, which erupted in 2019.
The four people familiar with the matter told Reuters that European prosecutors have been hearing testimony from Lebanese bankers and officials for the first time in the investigation regarding commission payments.