In Beirut, yesterday, the investigations of European judicial delegations, coming from France, Germany and Luxembourg, began in the financial file belonging to the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, and financial transfers from Lebanon abroad that took place for his own accounts and in favor of the “Fawry” company owned by his brother, Raja Salameh, and hovering. There are suspicions of “corruption and money laundering”.
The delegations began their mission yesterday morning with a meeting they held with the Cassation Public Prosecutor in Lebanon, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, in the presence of the cassation public lawyers, Judges Imad Qablan and Mirna Kallas, before moving to the plenary hall of the Court of Cassation and proceeding with their interrogations.
The first interrogation session lasted two and a half hours. A judicial source accompanying the mission of the European delegation explained that “during the session, the testimony of the former deputy governor of the Banque du Liban, Saad Al-Andari, was heard as a witness, and the second witness, Khalil Qassaf, the former employee of the Banking Control Commission, did not attend, so his interrogation was postponed to another day.” The source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the session was held “in the presence of Judges Qablan and Kallas, who asked the questions that the Europeans asked Al-Andari in Arabic, while two translators conveyed to the delegations the content of the statement in the three languages.”
For his part, Oweidat confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the delegations “will finish the first stage of their investigations next Friday, provided that an evaluation meeting will be held for the results of the sessions, after which the delegations will determine the date of the second stage of the investigation and the persons to be heard.”
In addition, the German judicial delegation is completing its review of the financial file belonging to the Governor of the Banque du Liban before the Public Prosecution Office of Appeal, under the supervision of the Attorney General, Judge Raja Hamoush.
