Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor Was Just Charged

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Was Just Charged With Job Negligence
The Daily Star/Mohamad Azakir

Mount Lebanon State Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun charged Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh with job negligence and breach of trust, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The charges are reportedly in relation to Salameh‘s management of subsidized dollars. Judge Aoun charged the head of the Banking Supervision Committee with the same offenses.

She also charged the owner of the dollar import company “M.M.” and money changer “A.F.” with violating an administrative decision, referring the charges to Judge Nicolas Mansour, the first investigating judge in Mount Lebanon, for questioning.

The move comes more than a month after Judge Aoun summoned Governor Salameh for questioning over the waste of subsidized U.S. dollars.

Salameh’s questioning came in the midst of official talks concerning the regulation of the Banque du Liban’s (BDL) subsidies over basic commodities.

The official was questioned again earlier this month, on a separate case related to an ongoing Swiss probe into multi-million dollar transfers allegedly linked to the Salameh and other people in his circle.

Last week, Swiss authorities froze accounts belonging to Salameh in Switzerland as the investigation progressed.