Chief of Lebanon's central bank accused of concealing fraud by French prosecutors

The governor of Lebanon's central bank, Riad Salameh, has been informed by French prosecutors that they intend to bring preliminary charges of fraud and money laundering against him, according to court documents seen by Reuters. This is in part because of allegedly fabricated bank statements that were used to conceal his wealth, according to the documents.

Documents provided to Salameh by French court authorities ahead of a hearing scheduled for May 16 in France contain the accusation of creating phony account statements, which had not previously been disclosed.

At that meeting, French prosecutors aim to formally accuse him and deliver the first set of charges.

Regarding his suspected use of phony documents, Salameh declined to comment. He has categorically refute charges of fraud and money laundering, claiming that he is being used as a scapegoat for Lebanon's economic woes.

The lawyer for Salameh said earlier this month that his client had not decided if he would travel to France to attend the hearing on May 16.

French prosecutors believe Salameh, 72, conspired with his brother Raja to siphon more than $300 million in public monies, some of which was used to purchase homes throughout Europe. They are working on an inquiry with equivalents in Lebanon and at least four other European countries, and this is a component of that probe.

Both Riad and Raja Salameh have denied utilizing public funds improperly. The majority of the governor's fortune, according to the investigators from France and other European countries who questioned Salameh in Beirut last month, comes from the public funds that Salameh is alleged to have plundered.

According to one of Salameh's lawyers, the document seen by Reuters comprises a number of bank documents that demonstrate how the governor's savings increased from $15 million in 1993 to more than $150 million by 2019 "as he capitalized interests."

However, according to French police, according to court documents viewed by Reuters in France, the bank statements were false.

French prosecutors claim in court documents that Salameh "used false records of bank accounts at AM Bank... provided by Marwan Kheireddine, to justify in a dishonest manner the origin of his properties or revenues."

French prosecutors allegedly testified that after questioning Salameh in Beirut, "Riad Salameh is not able to justify the various loans and investments that allowed him to increase his wealth by more than 250 million euros (at a minimum) during this period." This is according to records filed in French courts.

Salameh said that the source of his fortune was the prudent management of the savings he had earned over his career as an investment banker.

Kheireddine was imprisoned in France at the beginning of this month on suspicion of involvement in a criminal gang and aggravating money laundering. The banker was told not to leave the country, and his passport was removed.

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