“Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor and Brother Investigated for Embezzlement and Money Laundering”

Lebanese consumption

The brother of the governor of the Banque du Liban failed to attend a hearing in Beirut today, Tuesday, with European investigators investigating whether the two brothers embezzled and laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds over more than a decade.

Riad Salameh, Governor of the Banque du Liban, is being investigated alongside his brother Raja in Lebanon and in at least five European countries on charges of taking more than $300 million from the Central Bank by collecting commissions as fees from bond buyers and then transferring the money to Fawry Associates, which Raja owns.

Both brothers denied any crime. A lawyer for Raja, 62, did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

European investigators arrived in Beirut yesterday, Monday, and were scheduled to interrogate Raja as part of the investigation on Tuesday morning. But he did not attend the hearing, and a senior judicial source told Reuters that his lawyer came briefly to say he was ill.

Riad Salameh, 72, had previously denied embezzlement, and said that the commissions collected were not public funds.

According to French court documents seen by Reuters, French prosecutors say the funds obtained from Fawry were used to make “numerous” property purchases across Europe and the UK.

The documents say prosecutors suspect that Riaz used forged bank documents in Raja’s name to cover up illicit sources of wealth.

European investigators interrogated the governor of the Banque du Liban in Beirut over two days in March, asking about the central bank’s relationship with Fawry, the bank’s governor’s assets abroad, the source of his wealth and the transfers he made to his associates and relatives.

The investigators returned to follow up on the interrogation of Raja and an assistant to the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Marianne Howayek.

The three were accused of committing financial crimes in two separate cases in Lebanon, but no official and public charges have yet been brought against them in the European countries that are investigating.

French prosecutors have told Riad that they intend to press charges of fraud and money laundering during a hearing scheduled in France on May 16.

Salameh’s lawyer said earlier this month that his client had not yet decided whether to attend the French hearing.

Last spring, Raja was detained in Lebanon for nearly two months, accused of being involved in “graft” in which his brother was also involved.

Raja was released on a record bail of 100 billion Lebanese pounds, or about $3.7 million at the market exchange rate at the time.

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