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Germany informs Lebanon of arrest warrant on governor Central Bank

Beirut, May 23 (Prensa Latina) Germany verbally informed Lebanon of an arrest warrant against the governor of the Central Bank of that Arab country, Riad Salameh, the press on Tuesday reported.

This is the second memorandum issued by a foreign party against the Lebanese executive, under suspicion on charges of corruption, forgery, money laundering and embezzlement.

French prosecutors and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) last week issued an arrest warrant for Salameh, who insists he has not committed any crime.

According to Al Manar channel, at least five European countries are looking for clues about the governor’s wealth for embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from the Central Bank. In this context, Lebanese politicians, deputies, ministers and personalities issued positions regarding the governor’s resignation. The last of these calls took place on Tuesday during the meeting of the Parliament’s joint committees.

Salameh, who has held the post for three decades, is facing increasing opposition before the end of his term in July.

During two hearings in March before European investigators in Beirut, Salameh denied having transferred money from the Central Bank to his personal accounts inside and outside the country, criticizing what he described as “bad faith and a thirst for prosecution” against him.

On past February 23, the Lebanese judiciary charged the governor with committing crimes, including embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.

Two years ago, Switzerland’s public prosecutor sent a letter to Lebanon on suspicion that Salameh and his brother, Raja, illegally seized over 300 million dollars from the bank from 2002 to 2015.

In turn, Luxembourg investigated a criminal case related to the governor’s wealth, while the French judiciary conducted inquiries into his accounts in June 2021 in the context of his money laundering indictment.

According to experts, many Lebanese hold Riad Salameh and his monetary policies responsible for dragging the country into the current economic collapse, under the protection of the US administration and the ruling class.

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