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☆ Lebanon Freezes Accounts of Former Central Bank Governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lebanese authorities on Monday froze the bank accounts of the country’s embattled former central bank governor, Riad Salameh, days after the United States, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on him for “contributing to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon” through decades of corruption. The action, announced by Lebanon’s interim central bank governor, Wassim Mansouri, followed an internal investigation. The assets of four people close to Mr. Salameh were also frozen by the central bank. They include Mr. Salameh’s brother, Raja Salameh; his son, Nady Salameh; Anna Kosakova, whom U.S. officials described as Mr. Salameh’s former partner; and his former assistant at the central bank, Marianne Hoayek. The U.S.-led coalition accused them of helping Mr. Salameh funnel hundreds of millions of dollars through layered shell companies to invest in European real estate so that he could amass an outsize fortune outside of the country.

Persons: Riad Salameh, Wassim Mansouri, Salameh, Salameh’s, Raja Salameh, Nady Salameh, Anna Kosakova, Marianne Hoayek Organizations: Monday, Lebanon’s Locations: United States, Britain, Canada, Lebanon ”, U.S

☆ Lebanon's central bank chief leaves behind a 'terrible legacy,' says former minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailLebanon's central bank chief leaves behind a 'terrible legacy,' says former ministerNasser Saidi, who served as minister of economy and trade and minister of industry of Lebanon between 1998 and 2000, discusses the end of Riad Salameh's term as governor of Lebanon's central bank. Salameh faces corruption charges.

Persons: Nasser Saidi Locations: Lebanon, Lebanon's

☆ Lebanon's central bank chief steps down — and many blame him for the country's economic collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Riad Salameh's tenure as governor of Lebanon's central bank on Monday came to an end after 30 years, with many sharply critical of the legacy he now leaves behind. Lebanon has failed to find an official successor to Salameh, who has been governor of central bank since 1993 and has worked under 12 prime ministers and recurring political instability. Wassim Mansouri, the deputy governor of the central bank, told reporters that he will take the role on an interim basis. Lebanon's Rafik Hariri first became prime minister in 1992 and tapped Salameh to rebuild the country's post-war economy and banking sector. In 2022, the World Bank blamed the country's political elite for a "Ponzi Finance" scheme, saying the depression was "deliberate in the making over the past 30 years."

Persons: Riad, Nasser Saidi, CNBC's Dan Murphy, Salameh, Mansouri, Lebanon's Rafik Hariri Organizations: Liban, CNBC, World Bank Locations: Lebanon's, Banque, Lebanon

CENTRAL BANK 'SHATTERED'It has marked a dramatic reversal for a man once seen as a possible president. After taking the helm of the central bank, Salameh built a reputation as a competent steward of the financial system. The central bank, known as Banque du Liban (BDL), has always said the operations were legal. Defending his record on Wednesday, Salameh said the central bank had contributed to "establishing economic stability and development" during 27 years of his tenure. "Neither directly nor indirectly did any money from the Central Bank go to Forry," Salameh said in Wednesday's interview.

Persons: Riad Salameh, Salameh, LBCI, Nasser Saidi, Raja, Salameh's, Marianne Howayek, Howayek, Friederike Heine, Tom Perry, Toby Chopra Organizations: Reuters, Banque du Liban, Forry Associates, Central Bank, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanese, Lebanon, Banque, Salameh, France, Germany

☆ Lebanon's central bank to phase out Sayrafa exchange platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Beirut, July 17 (Reuters) - Lebanon’s central bank will decommission the controversial exchange platform known as Sayrafa after governor Riad Salameh’s 30-year tenure ends this month, one of the institution’s vice governors told Reuters on Monday. "It's about the way Sayrafa will be phased out," he said. The exchange platform was set up in May 2021, 18 months into Lebanon's economic meltdown. Chahine said the platform would be replaced by an "exchange rate determination electronic platform" set up through international providers. The World Bank described it as one of the "weak, and often counterproductive, policies implemented by the Lebanese authorities since the outbreak of the crisis."

Persons: Riad Salameh’s, Salim Chahine, Sayrafa, Chahine, Maya Gebeily, Josie Kao Organizations: Reuters, International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg, World Bank, Thomson Locations: Beirut, Sayrafa's

☆ Lebanon PM will not extend central bank governor's mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIRUT, July 10 (Reuters) - Lebanon's caretaker premier, Najib Mikati, will not extend the term of central bank Governor Riad Salameh when it ends later this month, the prime minister's office said on Monday. One of Lebanon's four vice governors told Reuters that all four were considering quitting together if no successor is named, raising the possibility of a leaderless central bank amid a deep financial crisis. Mikati's deputy, Saade Chami, told Reuters last week that such a threat was "dangerous" and that the vice governors should "assume their responsibility in case this appointment is not possible." Central bank governors are typically appointed by the president, but parliament has been unable to elect a president to follow Michel Aoun, whose term ended in late October. The central bank governor, who was once a regular at banking conferences and high-end restaurants, is now rarely seen in public except for occasional media interviews.

Persons: Najib Mikati, Riad Salameh, Salameh, Saade Chami, Michel Aoun, Nabih Berri, Berri, Mikati, Maya Gebeily, Mark Heinrich, Leslie Adler Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Central

Neither Azour nor Hezbollah-backed candidate Suleiman Frangieh came close to winning the 86 votes needed to win in a first round vote. Azour, the IMF's Middle East Director and an ex-finance minister, won the support of 59 of 128 lawmakers. Hezbollah and its allies then withdrew from the session, denying the two-thirds quorum required for a second vote in which 65 votes are enough for victory. Azour thanked lawmakers who backed him, saying he hoped the will expressed by "the majority of deputies" would be respected. George Adwan, a Christian lawmaker with the anti-Hezbollah Lebanese Forces party, said the vote was "a major victory" because it showed Azour close to 65 votes.

Persons: Gebran Bassil, Azour, Suleiman Frangieh, Frangieh, Nabih Berri, Michel Aoun, Hussein al, Haj Hassan, Bashar al, Assad, George Adwan, Mohamed Azakir, Matthew Miller, Miller, Mohanad Hage Ali, Riad Salameh, Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan dialled, Issam Abdallah, Simon Lewis, Tom Perry, John Stonestreet, Mark Heinrich, William Maclean Organizations: BEIRUT, Hezbollah, IMF, Maronite, Hezbollah Lebanese Forces, REUTERS, U.S . State Department, Carnegie Middle East Center, West, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, Iran, Muslim, Saudi Arabia, Lebanese, Yemen, Beirut, Washington, U.S, United States, Israel, Damascus

☆ Riad Salameh has been Lebanon's central bank governor for 'way too long,' minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRiad Salameh has been Lebanon's central bank governor for 'way too long,' minister saysAmin Salam, economy and trade minister of Lebanon, discusses the investigation into the world's longest-serving central bank governor, Lebanon's Riad Salameh.

Persons: Amin Salam, Lebanon's Locations: Lebanon

☆ France summons brother, assistant of Lebanon central bank boss in fraud probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Central bank chief Riad Salameh, his brother Raja Salameh, and his assistant Marianne Hoayek are being investigated in Lebanon, France and other countries for allegedly taking hundreds of millions in funds from the central bank. France has set a hearing in Paris for his brother Raja on May 31 and for Hoayek on June 13, a source close to the matter told Reuters. A Lebanese judicial source confirmed to Reuters that Lebanon's judiciary had received the summons and was working to deliver them. France last week issued an arrest warrant for Salameh, 72, after he failed to attend his own hearing in Paris. The Salameh brothers and Hoayek have already been charged in two separate cases in Lebanon related to embezzlement and other financial crimes.

☆ Lebanon’s central bank boss urged to resign after French arrest warrant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Summary Lebanon's deputy PM says Salameh should quitCentral bank head under investigation for fraudFrench prosecutors issue arrest warrantBEIRUT, May 18 (Reuters) - Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami called on Thursday for Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh to resign following France’s issuing of an arrest warrant against him as part of a fraud investigation. He plans to appeal against the French warrant, which he told Al-Hadath violated principles of a Lebanese-French agreement without giving more details. A Lebanese judge overseeing a local case against Salameh has rejected his lawyers' defence arguments, clearing the way for a June 15 hearing, a senior judicial source told Reuters. The judicial source told Reuters a new hearing date for Raja Salameh had also been set for June 15. French prosecutors' warrant for Riad Salameh, issued on Tuesday, was the first from any of the foreign probes into him.

☆ Lebanon central bank chief's brother questioned at European fraud probe hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a nearly five-hour session in which Raja was questioned about his brother's wealth, he told investigators that Forry was solely owned by him. He said $155 million in funds he amassed came from investment profits made over ten years from accrued interest and foreign exchange transactions. The documents say prosecutors suspect Riad used fake banking documents in Raja's name to cover up illicit sources of wealth. The European investigators are also set on Friday to question caretaker finance minister Youssef el-Khalil , who still serves as the central bank's head of financial operations. French prosecutors have informed Riad that they intend to press charges of fraud and aggravated money laundering during a planned hearing in France on May 16.

☆ European investigators question Lebanon c.bank chief's assistant in fraud probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 27 (Reuters) - European investigators in Beirut questioned an assistant to Lebanon's central bank governor on Thursday as part of a probe into whether the governor embezzled and laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, local media and a judicial source said. Marianne Houayek, 42 and a longtime assistant to the governor, was scheduled to be questioned as a suspect, according to a schedule for the European investigators seen by Reuters. A French court document seen by Reuters says up to $5 million euros from the central bank ultimately went to Houayek via accounts in Switzerland and Luxembourg. The European investigators questioned the governor in Beirut in March and returned on Monday for further hearings. The European investigators are also set to question caretaker finance minister Youssef el-Khalil, who still serves as the central bank's head of financial operations, as well as other top officials of the bank.

☆ French prosecutors accuse Lebanon central bank chief of hiding fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIRUT/PARIS, April 21 (Reuters) - French prosecutors have told Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh they plan to press preliminary fraud and money laundering charges against him, partly based on allegedly forged bank statements used to conceal his wealth, according to French court documents seen by Reuters. During that hearing, French prosecutors intend to press the preliminary charges and formally name him a suspect. As part of his response to accusations, Salameh sent French prosecutors a 65-page memo supplied by Marwan Kheireddine, the chairman of Lebanon's AM Bank. But according to the French court documents seen by Reuters, French investigators have reached the conclusion the bank statements were fake. Salameh "used fake records of bank accounts at AM Bank… provided by Marwan Kheireddine, to justify in a deceitful manner the origin of his properties or revenues," French prosecutors say in the court documents.

The Lebanese bank did not respond to a message seeking comment. Bank statements seen by Reuters show how the Salameh accounts at AM Bank ballooned from $15 million in 1993 to more than $150 million by 2019. Lebanese prosecutors suspect the accounts, from which regular cash withdrawals were made, were used to conceal money laundering activity, a Lebanese judicial source said on Saturday. According to the lawyer, French prosecutors have summoned his client with a view of naming him a formal suspect. If French prosecutors suspected Salameh of wrongdoing, they could not hear him as a witness, Sur said.

☆ European investigators to revisit Lebanon in central banker fraud case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, April 5 (Reuters) - European investigators will return to Beirut in April to question two key people who have been charged in Lebanon in a case involving alleged fraud by Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh, two sources with direct knowledge of the probe told Reuters. Lebanon and at least five European countries are investigating whether Salameh and his brother Raja Salameh took more than $300 million from the central bank between 2002 and 2015. The three have been charged in Lebanon with embezzlement, illicit enrichment and money laundering in two separate cases but have not been detained. The European investigators are due to arrive in Beirut on April 24. The governor enjoyed strong backing from Lebanese elites in his three decades as central bank chief, during which the central bank financed a state rife with corruption and enforced policies that earned commercial banks massive profits.

☆ Lebanon to sell unlimited US dollars to prop up collapsing pound
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, March 21 (Reuters) - Lebanon's central bank will begin selling unlimited amounts of U.S. dollars in a bid to halt the spiralling devaluation of the Lebanese pound, Governor Riad Salameh said on Tuesday. Salameh set a new rate for Sayrafa, the central bank's exchange platform, at 90,000 Lebanese pounds per dollar on Tuesday. The pound has lost more than 98% of its value since the economy began unravelling in 2019. Tuesday's move came with the approval of the caretaker premier and caretaker finance minister and aimed to "limit the devaluation of the Lebanese pound in the parallel market," Salameh said. The pound began rising in value on the parallel market immediately after the decision was announced.

☆ Lebanon judge sets March 15 hearing for central bank chief in graft probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT, March 6 (Reuters) - A Lebanese investigative judge has scheduled a March 15 hearing for Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh as part of a cross-border corruption probe into Salameh and close associates, a judicial source said. Judge Charbel Abu Samra took over the case late last month after another judge charged Salameh with embezzlement, illicit enrichment and money laundering. The charges against Salameh are the product of an 18-month probe into whether Salameh and his brother, Raja, embezzled more than $300 million from the Central Bank between 2002 and 2015. Salameh, central bank governor since 1993, still enjoys backing from powerful Lebanese leaders. He was charged last year over illicit enrichment in a case related to the purchase and rental of Paris apartments, including some to Lebanon's central bank.

☆ Swiss regulator investigates 12 banks in Lebanese central banker corruption case
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ZURICH, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Switzerland's financial regulator has investigated 12 banks and launched enforcement proceedings against two of them in relation to corruption charges against longtime central banker Riad Salameh, it said on Monday. Lebanese authorities charged Salameh, his brother Raja and one of his assistants on Thursday with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment after months of delay in the high-profile case. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) on Monday said it has investigated 12 banks in relation to allegations of money laundering linked to the case. FINMA declined to comment on the nature of the enforcement proceedings in this case, or the banks involved. The Salameh brothers are alleged to have transferred $330 million to Swiss accounts via the offshore company Forry Associates, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung newspaper reported.

The charges come in the waning months of Salameh's latest term as governor, a position he has held for three decades and for which he was often celebrated - until 2019, when Lebanon's economy began to unravel. In comments to Reuters on Thursday, Salameh said the charges were "not an indictment" and pledged to abide by the judicial procedures. The governor has dismissed accusations of illicit enrichment as part of an effort to scapegoat him for Lebanon's financial collapse. TWO INTERPRETATIONSSalameh was charged last year over illicit enrichment in a case related to the purchase and rental of Paris apartments, including some to Lebanon's central bank. Oueidat referred the case - which included Salameh and a number of unidentified associates - to a Beirut prosecutor to file charges including illicit enrichment, embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion.

☆ Explainer: The probes into Lebanese central bank chief Salameh
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BEIRUT, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Lebanese authorities charged longtime central bank governor Riad Salameh, his brother Raja and one of his assistants on Thursday with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment after months of delay in the high-profile case. Top prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat stopped Tannous from attending a Paris meeting last year with European prosecutors investigating Salameh, Reuters reported. In June 2022, Oueidat ordered a prosecutor to formally charge Salameh with crimes including money laundering, illicit enrichment, forgery and tax evasion. On Thursday, a newly appointed prosecutor, judge Raja Hamoush, charged Salameh with money laundering, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. The finance minister said this month replacing him would be difficult, citing Lebanon's political complexities.

☆ Lebanon's central bank chief says he will not renew his term
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CAIRO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Lebanon's embattled central bank chief Riad Salameh said on Sunday he would leave his post once his latest term ends in July even if he is asked to stay longer. "No one has asked me to continue [as central bank chief] but even if they do, I think this is enough," he said in a televised interview with Egypt's AlQahera News on Sunday. Salameh, who became the head of the central bank in 1993, has come under increased scrutiny both at home and abroad since Lebanon's financial system began unraveling in 2019. The collapse has locked most savers out of their bank accounts and pushed more than 80% of Lebanon's population below the poverty line. The central bank had announced in November 2022 that a "specialized and professional international auditing firm" had completed an audit of the gold reserves but had not announced its value.

☆ Lebanon devalues official exchange rate by 90%
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Lebanon adopted a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per U.S. dollar on Wednesday, the central bank said, marking a 90% devaluation from its previous official rate that had been unchanged for 25 years. The shift from the old rate of 1,507 is still far off the parallel market where most trades take place. Two market participants said the pound was changing hands at around 59,000 per dollar on Tuesday. Lebanese officials have described the adoption of the new official exchange rate as a step towards unifying an array of rates that have emerged during the crisis. Analysts expect the shift to have less impact on the wider economy, which is increasingly dollarized and where most trades take place according to the parallel market rate.

BEIRUT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Lebanon will adopt a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds per U.S. dollar on Feb. 1, central bank governor Riad Salameh said, marking a 90% devaluation from its current official rate that has remained unchanged for 25 years. The pound has lost some 97% of its value since it began to split from the 1,507 rate in 2019. In order to ease the impact of this shift, banks would be given five years "to reconstitute the losses due to the devaluation," he said. Several rates remain, including the official rate, the central bank's Sayrafa exchange platform rate which currently stands at 38,000 pounds per U.S. dollar, and the parallel market rate. While capital controls have never been formally imposed in Lebanon, banks since 2019 have imposed their own controls, severely limiting withdrawals in dollars and Lebanese pounds.

[1/3] George Bezdjian, whose daughter Jessica died in 2020 port explosion, holds her picture during a protest against steps taken this week to hamstring a probe into the 2020 port blast, in Beirut, Lebanon January 26, 2023. With friends and allies of Lebanon's most powerful factions, including Hezbollah, among those charged, the establishment struck back swiftly on Wednesday, when the prosecutor general charged Bitar with usurping powers. With deep fissures in the judiciary exposed, the tussle adds to the unravelling of a state accelerated by a three-year-long financial crisis, left to fester by the ruling elite. Attempts by a Lebanese judge to investigate Salameh have hit obstacles in Lebanon, where politicians have big sway over the judiciary. In opposing Bitar, Hezbollah has accused the United States of meddling in the investigation and Bitar of political bias.

BEIRUT, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Lebanese bankers told European prosecutors they believed that commissions now at the centre of a graft probe had been paid to the central bank, four sources said, while investigators suspect the cash illegally ended up with the governor's brother. They suspect central bank governor Riad Salameh and his brother Raja illegally took more than $300 million from the central bank between 2002 and 2015 and invested some of the funds in Europe. The bankers and officials told the visiting European prosecutors that they were not aware that the funds had gone to Forry Associates, the four sources said. The four sources said former central bank officials and private bankers had told the European prosecutors they first heard of Forry Associates when the investigation began and the name appeared in the media. A separate but related Lebanese probe charged Riad Salameh with illicit enrichment in March, which he has denied.

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