BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese judge ruled Monday that the country's former central bank governor will remain jailed after being charged with embezzling tens of millions of dollars from the state treasury.
Lebanon's Financial Prosecutor's Office Riad Salameh indicted He was detained last week after being questioned by Lebanon's top prosecutor on multiple financial crimes charges and was charged with embezzling $42 million.
Salameh continues to maintain his innocence.
After Salameh appeared in court on Monday, Judge Bilal Halawi issued an arrest warrant for him, meaning he will remain in custody pending his trial.
According to law enforcement officials, Salameh worked with two lawyers to transfer the funds from the central bank through other accounts and ultimately into his own.
Following the allegations, Lebanon's Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit against Salameh for allegedly embezzling public funds.
Salame, who ended his 30-year term as central bank governor a year ago amid investigations into allegations of financial crimes in several European countries, is blamed by many in Lebanon for the devastating financial crisis that has hit the country since late 2019.
A judicial official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said Salameh appeared in court without a lawyer on the day of his arrest last week and believed he had been called as a witness, not a suspect.
Many Lebanese savers have seen their savings disappear or remain trapped in banks as a result of the collapse of the country's currency and banking system.
A small group of protesters gathered outside Beirut's Palace of Justice calling for Salameh to remain in prison.
“Everyone who collaborated with Riad Salameh will go to prison with him, whether they are the deep state, the banks, the thieves and money launderers, or the media who covered up for Riad Salameh,” said Elias Jarade, part of a group of independent lawmakers who came to power in 2022 on an anti-government, anti-corruption platform.
Appointed in 1993, Salame initially led Lebanon's economic recovery after 15 years of civil war and was praised for stabilizing the economy during a long period of political deadlock and turmoil.
He has long denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illegal enrichment, saying his wealth came from inherited real estate, investments and his former job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.
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Sewell reported from Istanbul.
