Days after the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada imposed sanctions on them, Lebanon’s interim governor of the central bank blocked the accounts of the bank’s disgraced former chief and his close family members and friends on Monday.
Following a meeting of the Special Investigation Commission of the central bank, Wassim Mansouri’s decision was made public. The commission is in charge of preventing the financing of terrorism and money laundering. It listed Riad Salameh, the former governor, along with his son Nady, brother Raja, close friend Marianne Hoayek, and ex-partner Anna Kosakova.
Mansouri commanded the freezing of all five people’s accounts with banks and other financial organizations in Lebanon. Additionally, upon the court authorities’ request, it relaxes the persons’ bank secrecy obligations.
When The Associated Press tried to reach Riad Salameh for comment, his cellphone was off.
On July 31, Salameh, 73, quit his 30-year term amid an investigation and accusations of being responsible for his nation’s unprecedented economic disaster.
Salameh and his close friends are being looked into by France, Germany, and Luxembourg for potential financial crimes such ill-gotten gains and the laundering of $330 million. Salameh received Interpol notifications from Berlin and Paris in May, despite the fact that Lebanon does not extradite its people.
The United States coordinated the penalties with the United Kingdom and Canada, the U.S. Treasury Department announced last week, and assets related to Salameh will be frozen.
Salameh has consistently refuted claims of corruption, theft, and illegal gain. He argues that his assets, inherited property, and prior employment as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch are the sources of his fortune.
In Lebanon, Salameh is also under investigation. Soon after receiving the Interpol warnings, the Lebanese judiciary confiscated his passports and imposed a travel restriction.
Salameh has denounced the European investigation and claimed it is a part of a media and political smear campaign against him.
Salameh, who was formerly regarded as Lebanon’s protector of financial stability, has been among the government figures most frequently charged with implementing the policies that triggered the nation’s economic crisis, which has caused the Lebanese pound to lose about 90% of its value relative to the US dollar and sparked triple-digit inflation.
A New York-based company’s forensic investigation of Lebanon’s central bank this week uncovered Salameh’s years-long wrongdoing and $111 million in “illegitimate commissions.”
The Associated Press had access to a copy of the 331-page Alvarez & Marsal dossier on Friday. The International Monetary Fund, which has gradually lost faith in crisis-torn Lebanon over the years, and the international community has made the audit one of their top requests.
