Lebanese Judge Confiscates Central Bank Governor’s Passports

A Lebanese judge confiscated the passports of the governor of the country’s central bank on Wednesday following a French arrest warrant on charges of corruption and embezzlement.

Riad Salameh is being investigated by France, Germany, and Luxembourg for alleged financial crimes, including allegedly embezzling more than $330 million from the bank he oversees. After Salameh failed to show up in Paris for questioning, France issued an international arrest warrant last week and then an Interpol red notice. The international police coordination organization’s red notice serves as a request for law enforcement around the world to arrest a given suspect.

According to Lebanon’s Elnashra news website, Court of Cassation Attorney General Imad Kabalan questioned Salameh and issued the travel ban. Prosecutor General Ghassan Oueidat will now ask France to hand over its file on Salameh in order to decide on further action. Since Lebanon does not extradite its citizens, Salameh would face a trial in Lebanon if the country’s court decides to act.

Salameh has denied any wrongdoing, saying that the money suspected of having been embezzled from the central bank actually came from his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, his inheritance, and his investments.