Lebanese “Justice” Demands Riad Salameh’s Arrest and Property Seizure

Yesterday, the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, did not appear before European judicial delegations to question him about the content of the warrants related to financial transfers from accounts abroad, and to verify suspicions that he had committed the crime of “money laundering”, which necessitated the postponement of the session until today, Thursday, and his official notification of its date through his legal representative.
Salama’s absence surprised the European judges, given that they were certain of his appearance before them, as they arrived at nine thirty in the morning yesterday at the Palace of Justice in Beirut, that is, an hour before the time of the interrogation, and held a meeting with the Lebanese investigating judge Charbel Abu Samra and the head of the Cases Authority in the Ministry of Justice. Justice, Judge Helena Iskandar, in the hall designated for the session within the wing of the State Consultative Council on the fifth floor of the Palace of Justice.
The Governor of the Central Bank attributed this absence, to “his waiting for the Lebanese judiciary to respond to the explanatory memorandum he sent to Investigating Judge Charbel Abu Samra, in which he considered that the coming of foreign judges to Lebanon and interrogating him with financial files violates the law and the national sovereignty of the judiciary.” A prominent judicial source confirmed to “ Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, that “the memorandum was immediately rejected and that the Public Prosecutor’s Office stressed that it had previously, during the month of January (January), allowed judges from France, Germany and Luxembourg to interrogate current and former officials of the Banque du Liban and owners of commercial banks.” He said, “This mission is consistent with the Anti-Corruption Convention, which Lebanon signed in 2008, which obliges the member states to meet the demands of each other in judicial and security prosecutions related to corruption files,” stressing that “the implementation of international authorizations does not contradict Lebanese law and does not detract from it.” From Lebanese sovereignty, but rather comes in line with judicial agreements that serve the interests of both parties, especially since Lebanon has an independent file and will benefit from the information available to the European side, especially since the Lebanese file was established following the launch of investigations in European countries, and it came as a result of correspondence and representations since the spring of 2021 ». .
It is expected that the central ruler’s statements will contain many surprises, as he is the first responsible for financial management in Lebanon for three decades, and sources accompanying this file saw that “what aroused the central ruler’s displeasure was the insistence of the French judge, Aud Borezi, to interrogate him as a suspect, and that at the same time she will represent Luxembourg team in this session ». The sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the nature of the investigation does not advance or delay, especially since the French judge and other Europeans cannot take any action against Salameh, meaning that it is not possible to prosecute him and request his arrest.” She said, “It is up to the deputizing authorities to take the measure they deem appropriate in their country, not on Lebanese soil.”
In parallel with the European investigation, the Lebanese state yesterday, represented by the head of the Cases Authority at the Ministry of Justice, Judge Helena Iskandar, filed a personal claim against Riad Salameh, his brother Raja, his assistant Marianne Howayek, and everyone who appears in the investigation, according to the claim of the Public Prosecution Office of Appeal in Beirut, which was submitted to the first investigating judge in Beirut. Charbel Abu Samra for the crimes of “bribery, forgery, use of counterfeiters, money laundering, illegal enrichment and tax evasion.”
The head of the commission asked the investigating judge to “arrest the two brothers, Salama and Marianne Al-Hawik, seize their real estate properties, and freeze their bank accounts and the accounts of their spouses and minor children, to prevent them from disposing of them in order to preserve the rights of the Lebanese state.” And she urged “the issuance of the indictment against them in preparation for their trial before the Criminal Court in Beirut to impose the most severe penalties against them due to the seriousness of the crimes alleged against them, reserving the right to determine personal compensation before the Court of First Instance.” The commission requested that “a copy of the lawsuit be transferred to the Special Investigation Commission at the Banque du Liban through the Public Prosecution Court of Cassation, in order to freeze the accounts of the defendants and the accounts of their spouses and minor children with Lebanese and foreign banks.” And she called for “issuing the decision to place the sign of this lawsuit on the defendants’ real estate to prevent them from disposing of it.”
Although this claim coincided with the validity of the mission of foreign delegations, the sources explained that this measure is “completely separate from the path of European delegations.” And she emphasized that “the new prosecution will be included in the Lebanese file, which Judge Abu Samra postponed its progress until the completion of the work of the European judges and their departure from Lebanon.”