Today, the term of the Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, ends after he spent nearly thirty years in office. Salameh left the Central Bank building at a time when charges of corruption, forgery and money laundering followed him.
Salameh was considered the architect of financial policies in the post-civil war economic recovery phase, but he is now accused of failure and of bearing a large part of the responsibility for the deterioration of the economic situation and the collapse of the exchange rate of the lira.
But this legacy left behind a devastating collapse in the banking sector and accusations of corruption inside and outside the country.
Riad Salameh was previously known as a seasoned expert
For many years, many Lebanese viewed Salameh as the backbone of the financial system until its collapse in 2019.
During Salameh’s reign, Lebanon witnessed a financial collapse
At that time, Salameh watched his position crumble, as the financial collapse impoverished a large number of citizens and froze the deposits of most savers in the banking sector.
The Lebanese hold Salama responsible for the collapse
Many Lebanese hold Salameh and the ruling elites responsible for the financial collapse that made the lira lose about 98 percent of its value.
Salameh is accused of embezzlement and money laundering
Salameh’s image was further tarnished when European countries began, one after another, to open investigations into whether he had used his position to embezzle public money and accumulate wealth behind it.
International arrest warrants against Salameh
French and German authorities issued arrest warrants for Salame in May and red notices issued by Interpol indicated that he was wanted in both countries.
Salama denies responsibility for the collapse
Salameh defended his tenure, stressing that he had become a scapegoat for this collapse, adding that the government – not the central bank – was responsible for spending public funds.
Losses of $76 billion
Nasser Saidi, the former Minister of Economy and Deputy Governor of the Banque du Liban, said that Salameh leaves behind a destroyed institution that will have to be restructured in light of losses of about seventy-six billion dollars in the Banque du Liban.
The main question now is the extent of the ability of whoever will succeed Salameh to rearrange the situation and overcome the repercussions and losses?
Journalist Sabine Aweys spoke to Sky News Arabia about the case:
First, how do you judge the stage of Riad Salameh with his departure from office?
Riad Salameh’s period witnessed growth and prosperity, but it also witnessed catastrophic times, and everyone in power or financial policy participated in it. If the state wanted it could have survived somehow, but the government preferred its own interests.
Will the bank, in Wassim Mansouri’s temporary phase, be able to face the challenges?
I do not think so, and what was built on a mistake will continue, unless change takes place from the roots. Today, there are laws that have become urgent, the most important of which is the restructuring of the banking sector and the development of financial balance frameworks. Wassim Mansouri showed a decisive tone that showed promise, it seems that he got guarantees.
Today, Wassim Mansouri, he asked a law to continue with the same policy legally, he talked about 6 months. A medium-term plan, the state must search for new revenues to make up for its deficit. The challenge is great, but Wassim Mansouri promised financial reform.
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2023-07-31 11:31:30
