Three European delegations will arrive in Beirut over the next 10 days to question senior Lebanese banking and financial officials.
The investigation is focused on allegations of corruption and money laundering by Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and his associates.
According to al-Akhbar newspaper, the first delegation, from Germany and Luxembourg, will arrive on Monday, followed by a French delegation starting on January 14th.
Despite State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat’s statement that Salameh will not be questioned, sources say that French judge Aude Borozzi intends to question him as a suspect and may file charges against him.
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh’s name is still on the list of those who will be questioned. However, there are indications that he may not show up for questioning, particularly as the French delegation intends to question him as a suspect.
The names of the officials who will be questioned have been leaked to the media:
– Riad Salameh (Central Bank Governor)
– Raja Salameh (Salameh’s brother and owner of the company Forry Associates Ltd)
– Marianne Hoayek (Executive Director at Central Bank and Head of the Governor’s Executive Office)
– Marwan Issa al-Khoury (Salameh’s nephew)
– Nabil Aoun (One of the main brokers working for Salameh)
– Marwan Kheireddine (Al-Mawarid Bank Chairman)
– Samir Hanna (Bank Audi Chairman)
– Rayya al-Hassan (BankMed Chairwoman)
– Joseph Tarabay (Credit Libanais bank chairman)
– Fahim Modad (BLOM Bank Chairman, served as Central Bank Vice Governor between 1997 and 2003)
– Directors of Fransabank, BBAC bank and BML bank
– Walid Nakkour (Head of the financial auditing team looking into the Central Bank’s accounts on behalf of the Ernst & Young company since 2007)
– Ramzi Accaoui (One of Ernst & Young’s authorized signatories)
– Nada Maalouf (Owns a firm that has been auditing the Central Bank’s accounts since 1994)
– Auditors from the Deloitte company
