France Issues Arrest Warrant for Lebanese Central Bank Governor

French prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant Tuesday for Riad Salameh, the longtime governor of Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank, after he failed to appear before French prosecutors as part of an ongoing European probe into corruption charges.

In a statement by Salameh, he criticized the French judicial process, saying that some confidential information about the case was leaked to the media, and further stating that he seeks to appeal the decision, calling it a “clear legal violation.”

A European judicial team from Germany, Luxembourg, and France has been conducting a corruption investigation into an array of financial crimes allegedly committed by Salameh and his associates from Lebanon’s central bank, commercial banks, and auditing companies, including fraud, money laundering, and illicit enrichment.

Salameh, 72, has held his post for almost 30 years and has denied all allegations against him, insisting that his wealth comes from previous investments and inheritances.

Salameh has been accused of precipitating the country’s financial meltdown, which has plunged three-quarters of Lebanon’s population of 6 million into poverty.

According to a World Bank report released Tuesday, the cash economy in Lebanon makes up almost 46% of the country’s gross domestic product, with officials stalling on implementing critical economic reforms demanded by the international community to make its economy, which suffers from soaring inflation and an unprecedented high unemployment rate, viable again.