A judge ruled Monday that Lebanon's former central bank chief will remain in detention amid a probe into alleged financial crimes committed during his tenure, including embezzlement of tens of millions of dollars from state coffers.
Lebanon's Financial Public Prosecution division charged Riad Salameh last week with embezzlement of $42 million after being detained following an interrogation by the country's top public prosecutor over several alleged financial crimes.
Salameh has maintained that he is innocent.
On Monday, after Salameh appeared at a court hearing, Judge Bilal Halawi issued an arrest warrant against him, meaning he would remain behind bars while the case was being tried.
Halawi set another hearing for Thursday, judicial sources told Reuters.
Salameh's media office has said he would not comment publicly on the case, which is in line with the law. It said in a statement that he had cooperated in the past with more than 20 criminal probes in Beirut and Mount Lebanon and was cooperating with the investigation after his detention.
Judicial officials said Salameh arranged with two attorneys to transfer money from the central bank through other accounts, eventually reaching his own.
Following the charges, Lebanon's Justice Ministry filed a lawsuit against Salameh for alleged embezzlement of public funds.
Salameh ended his 30-year term as central bank governor a year ago under a cloud, with several European countries investigating allegations of financial crimes. Many in Lebanon blame him for the crippling financial crisis that has gripped 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 on the day of his arrest last week without a lawyer, believing that he had been summoned as a witness, not a suspect.
If the prosecution continues, it would mark a rare case of a serving or retired senior Lebanese official facing accountability in a system that critics say has long shielded the elite.
Many Lebanese depositors saw their savings dissipate or remain trapped in banks due to the plunging national currency and collapse of the banking system.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the Justice Palace in Beirut to urge that Salameh remain behind bars.
"Everyone who collaborated with Riad Salameh, whether in the deep state or in the banks or the thieves and money launderers or the media that whitewashed Riad Salameh, they will all be with him" in jail, said Elias Jaradeh, part of a group of independent legislators who came to office in 2022 on an anti-government and anti-corruption platform.
A group of protesters shouted "Thief!" as a convoy they believed was transporting Salameh entered the Justice Ministry building. Some of them struck one of the vehicles with their hands.
Salameh was appointed in 1993 and was initially celebrated for his role in steering an economic recovery after Lebanon's 15-year civil war and for keeping the economy on an even keel during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.
He has denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment for years. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.
