Riad Salamé in the legal turmoil in Switzerland, London and France

A group of activists based in London namely the governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salamé as well as his relatives, of corruption and laundering of dirty money.

The group called Guernica37 transmitted this report to the British police last year as well as to the National Crime Agency. This report was prepared at the request of Lebanese civil society activist groups.

A preliminary investigation is also said to be underway to verify the information published. It will then be a question of opening a formal investigation.

Riad Salamé could thus have embezzled several hundreds of billions of Lebanese pounds, reinvested in financial assets in Great Britain, accuse the authors of this report who also transmitted it to the judicial authorities of other European countries.
Riad Salamé, who has read this report believes that these are false statements.

This report accuses the governor of the Banque du Liban in particular of having provided the benefit of a certain number of his relatives, including his ex-son-in-law, a lawyer. Recourse to the services of the latter was then compulsory in order to proceed with over-the-counter purchases of Lebanese banks.

The Guernica report37

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Charges of embezzlement already rejected by Riad Salamé

As a reminder, Riad Salamé had categorically rejected the accusations of the Swiss authorities who had asked for details concerning certain transfers. He had indicated to have lost the sum 240 million dollars only abroad 2002.

Certain sources were to be targeted by the investigation, in addition to the governor of the Banque du Liban himself, his brother Raja and his assistant Marianne Hoayek.

In addition to the Minister of Justice Marie Claude Najem who transferred the file to the Public Prosecutor, the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun and the outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab, would also have been informed of Bern’s request.

For his part, Riad Salamé – supported by the Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri – denied being at the origin of such transfers just like his brother or his assistant.

This information comes when he had already been accused, last April, by Daraj Media, of being at the origin of such movements of funds.

The governor of the Banque du Liban Riad Salamé, his brother Raja and his close advisor Marianne Hoayek accused of holding accounts for several hundred million dollars on the basis of documents provided during the Panama Papers scandal.

Thus, Marianne Hoayek would have opened an account for the benefit of Riad Salamé for more than 187 million dollars within the Banco Allado Panama bank and another account within VP Bank Tortola BVI for 150 million dollars.

In addition, a company belonging to Rami Makhouf, a cousin of Syrian President Bashar el Assad is said to have deleted 55 million euros from the Zurich account of the governor of the Banque du Liban. He also has an account of 80 million euros at First National Bank.

With his brother Raja, he would have more than 446 million dollars invested mainly abroad. As for Marianne Hoayek, for whom 340 million dollars would have been collected under her name, she is a senior official in the Banque du Liban.

These figures were revealed during the question of the renewal of the mandate of the governor of the Banque du Liban in 2016 before seeing the affair hushed up, underlined Dima Sadek.

The journalist was then summoned in May 2020, she was summoned by the Internal Security Forces following a complaint “for damage to the reputation of banks and to the prestige of the economy” by the governor of the Banque du Liban Riad Salamé.

An investigation opened since in Switzerland for money laundering

Since then, the governor of the Banque du Liban would have seen his assets frozen in Switzerland following the discovery of documents detailing the movements of funds between Lebanon and Switzerland which would have been recorded by Riad Salamé and his brother. The men have been accused of money laundering since 2002.

The Swiss authorities thus note that 300 million dollars would have been transferred on the basis of a contract dated April 6, 2002 between the Bank of Lebanon (BDL) and the company Forry Associates Ltd, registered in Tortola in the Virgin Islands and having an office in Beirut, whose economic beneficiary would be Raja Salamé, thus highlighting an embezzlement of funds from the Banque du Liban for the benefit of the latter.

Commissions in the amount of 247 million dollars would have been paid on April 6, 2002 in return on the personal account of Raja Salamé. 207 million were reportedly paid to beneficiaries of accounts in the banks Bankmed, Banque Misr Liban, Crédit Libanais, Banque Audi and Banque Saradar as “personal expenses”. The BdL governor himself is said to have received more than $ 7 million from Forry Associates’ HSBC account. On April 5, 2012, Riad Salamé allegedly asked the Zurich bank to take out Lebanese treasury bonds to the tune of 153 million dollars from the Swiss Audi Bank in Beirut “with a personal signature”, leading the Swiss authorities to monitor the movements of these accounts, confirming according to investigators their suspicions of embezzlement.

10 million dollars would have even been paid into personal accounts belonging to Riad Salamé for a fictitious company, “Westlake Commercial Inc”, whose accounts should also be hosted by the Swiss bank Julius Baer

The governor of the Banque du Liban has $ 50 million in Switzerland as well as many real estate assets.

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The company in question is said to be unknown in Lebanon and was not treated under the contract, Other having certain judicial sources.

Two complaints filed in France

Since April 2021, 2 complaints have been filed against the governor of the Banque du Liban, one by the Swiss association Accountability Now and the other by the Sherpa association have requested a Franco-Lebanese collective. They accuse Riad Salamé, who also holds French nationality, of embezzlement and money laundering.

One of the complaints was allegedly filed on behalf of the Swiss foundation Accountability Now by lawyer Antoine Mausonneuve against Riad Salamé and the second on April 30 by lawyers William Bourdon and Amélie Lefebre on behalf of the Sherpa Association , specializing in the fight against economic crime around the world and a Franco-Lebanese collective.

According to the content of the article, would also be accused the own son of Riad Salamé, Nadi, aged 34, and his collaborator Marianne Hoayek whose heritage is of dubious origin.

The patrimony of the governor of the Banque du Liban – moreover holder of French nationality – in place in 1993, would reach several hundred million euros and would have increased disproportionately since his accession to the head of the Lebanese Central Bank.

On July 16, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office entrusted the investigation to investigating judges. This new procedure could therefore allow the investigation to be extended, in particular to the international level within the European framework, but also to transmit requests for information to the Lebanese judicial authorities. Eventually, assets could even be seized or frozen.

Illegitimate daughter born from adulterous affair with Ukrainian woman discovered

Following an investigation into the funds of the governor of the Banque du Liban, a major surprise was discovered with the tracing of funds destined for a French real estate company. It would have been moved to Luxembourg and its leaders changed in May 2021..

The 2 women would have seen a significant real estate heritage for an amount of more than 21 million euros made available to them.

An investigation opened since in Luxembourg

On Friday, November 12, media sources were opened that an investigation had been opened by the Luxembourg courts after the discovery of a large network of companies belonging to Riad Salamé and his relatives. The assets of these companies are estimated at $ 100 million.

And no indictment in Lebanon

In Lebanon, the latter, if he was heard by justice, is still not the subject of an official indictment by the public prosecutor, judge Ghassan Oweidat, close like him to the former first Minister Saad Hariri.

Riad Salamé has, on several occasions and on the strength of this support, Saad Hariri having received several times the immunity of which he does not remain, refused to go – to Ghada Aoun as part of the investigation into the manipulation of dollar rate against the Lebanese pound. The role of the governor of the BdL had been questioned by the president of the union of official change agents himself in May 2020.