The accusation of using false bank statements, which has not been previously disclosed, was contained in documents sent to Salame by French judicial authorities ahead of a hearing scheduled for May 16 in France.
During that session, French prosecutors intend to file initial charges against Salama and formally name him as the accused.
Salameh refused to comment on the allegations of his use of forged documents. He repeatedly denied accusations of fraud and money laundering, saying that he had turned into a scapegoat for those responsible for the financial crisis that erupted in Lebanon in 2019.
Salameh’s lawyer said earlier this month that his client had not yet decided whether to travel to France for the May 16 hearing.
In a joint investigation with prosecutors in Lebanon and at least four other European countries, French prosecutors suspect that Salameh, 72, colluded with his brother Raja to transfer more than $300 million in public funds and used some of it to buy real estate across Europe.
Riad and Raja Salameh denied having transferred any public funds.
French and other European investigators who questioned Salameh last month in Beirut suspect that the bulk of his wealth comes from public funds, which he is said to have transferred to his account.
As part of his response to the accusations, Salameh sent, through Marwan Khair El-Din, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lebanese Mawarid Bank, a 65-page note to representatives of the French prosecutor.
The document, seen by Reuters, contains a series of bank statements that one of Salameh’s lawyers said showed how the central bank governor’s savings increased from $15m in 1993 to more than $150m by 2019 because he “capitalized interest”.
But according to documents submitted to a French court and seen by Reuters, French investigators concluded that the bank account statements were fraudulent.
French prosecutors said in the court documents that Salameh “used false records of bank accounts at Al-Mawarid Bank … provided by Marwan Khair El-Din to justify the source of his property or revenue through deception.”
Khaireldin’s lawyer, Terry Marmper, said his client denied any wrongdoing.
The documents stated that the French prosecutors wrote after Salameh’s interrogation in Beirut, saying, “Riyad Salameh is unable to justify the various loans and investments that enabled him to increase his wealth by more than 250 million euros (at a minimum) during this period.”
Salama stated that his wealth came from the good management of the savings he accumulated during his career as an investment banker.
Khaireddine was questioned in France this month on suspicion of criminal conspiracy and money laundering. The authorities ordered him not to leave the country and confiscated his passport.
