BEIRUT: After a French magistrate issued a warrant this week, Lebanon received an Interpol red alert asking for the arrest of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh.
The 72-year-old Salameh is the subject of numerous court inquiries both domestically and internationally on claims of fraud, money laundering, and illicit enrichment.
Judge Ghassan Oueidat, Lebanon’s top prosecutor, stated that he was reviewing the notice in order to schedule Salameh’s hearing for next week and conduct the required legal steps.
An inquiry into charges of money laundering involving Salameh is being led by French Judge Aude Buresi. She is specifically looking into the movement of over $330 million from the Banque du Liban to European banks via Forry Associates, a business controlled by Salameh’s brother, Raja Salameh.
Bassam Mawlawi, Lebanon’s interim interior minister, stated on Friday that police were carefully considering Interpol’s request to detain Salameh. He pushed Salameh to quit.
However, a legal source told Arab News that Salameh cannot be arrested or fired by the interior minister. Only the Lebanese judiciary has the authority to place him under arrest, and the Cabinet must approve the arrest.
According to the source, the judiciary “does not have the right to arrest Salameh at this stage because it does not have the necessary documents to do so.”
According to the source, Judge Oueidat required to ask the French justice for the dossier on Salameh and the records used to support the red alert.
“The judiciary previously requested the file on Lebanese businessman Carlos Ghosn,” they continued, “who has been sought out in France and Japan since 2019 on corruption charges.””Lebanon also made the same request to the French authorities to obtain Ghosn’s file in 2022, but the file has not yet reached Lebanon, despite France sending a judicial team to interrogate Ghosn in Beirut,” reads the report. “However, the Japanese judiciary did not respond to the Lebanese request, and his file did not reach the Lebanese judiciary.”
Lebanon does not extradite any Lebanese citizen to any foreign country, even if they have a different nationality, according to Judge Jean Tannous, who oversaw the preliminary investigations in his capacity as a public defender.Any warrant for an arrest issued against a Lebanese is therefore not valid. The Lebanese citizen must instead be tried for the crimes for which the arrest warrant was issued in Lebanon.
When acting Prime Minister Najib Mikati returns from the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, the Lebanese Cabinet is anticipated to meet. If the meeting is held and there are no protests, Salameh’s case will be on the schedule. The outcome is still up in the air, though, given the caretaker character of the cabinet and the present presidential void.
The first deputy governor would theoretically take over Salameh’s responsibilities if he resigns. However, considering that the first deputy is a member of the Shia sect and that the seat is really held by a Maronite, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri would probably disagree.
The president of Lebanon, who also holds an open seat, normally makes recommendations for the next governor’s nomination.
