The Lebanese judiciary accuses former Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, of embezzling $44.8 million

Today, the Lebanese judiciary issued an indictment against the former Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salama, and two other lawyers on charges of embezzlement of public funds, forgery, and illicit enrichment.
Salama was detained for approximately 13 months due to accusations of committing financial crimes during his work, and was released in September after paying a record bail of more than $14 million. Salama is still in Lebanon and subject to a travel ban.
The indictment panel in Beirut, composed of Judges Kamal Nassar as president and Marie-Christine Eid and Roland Chartouni as advisors, said in a statement that accusations were brought against Salama and lawyers Marwan Joe Issa Al-Khoury and Michel John Tueni of embezzling ⁠44 million and 800 thousand dollars from the “consulting account” at the Central Bank.
The indictment body also approved the Financial Public Prosecution’s request to conduct extensive investigations into how money was entered into banks and then taken out of them, without bank managers informing the Special Investigation Authority at the Bank of Lebanon.
In a statement, Al-Khoury denied knowledge of the existence of the “consulting account” mentioned in the indictment, stressing that he did not participate in the financial transactions of the Central Bank, and that he did not receive any money from it.
He added that the indictment itself called for the continuation of the investigation and that no charges should have been brought against him before it was completed.
Al-Khoury confirmed that the investigation had already proven that he did not receive any money from the Central Bank or any fees for his financial transactions.