Finance

Lebanon Indicts Ex-Central Bank Chief for Alleged Embezzlement

Is this long-overdue justice or political theater that lets the real culprits walk free?

Published AUG 11

Lebanon Indicts Ex-Central Bank Chief for Alleged Embezzlement

Story

Above: Lebanon's former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, Beirut, on Dec. 20, 2021. Image credit: Joseph Eid/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

A Lebanese judge on Monday indicted former central bank governor Riad Salameh and former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna on charges including embezzlement, money laundering, bribery and illicit enrichment, marking the first time a commercial banker has been charged in a case linked to Salameh.
The National
Reuters
The charges allege that Salameh and Hanna created shell companies, misappropriated central bank funds and used those funds to fraudulently purchase shares and bonds from commercial banks. Swiss foundation Accountability Now said the indictment covered suspected embezzlement of $154 million in 2010 and $102 million in 2012.
Asharq Al-Awsat
Arab News
The case was referred to Beirut's first investigative judge for further proceedings, and an arrest warrant was requested for Salameh, 76. Hanna, 88, posted $1 million bail and is not in custody while financial investigations continue.
Lorientlejour
Reuters
Salameh was taken into custody on July 31 after missing a court hearing and is currently held under medical supervision at Dahr al-Bashek government hospital outside Beirut, having been transferred there from Roumieh Prison. His family has requested his transfer to Bhannes Hospital for health reasons.
The New Arab
Arab News
The new proceedings follow a criminal complaint by current central bank governor Karim Soueid, who alleged misappropriation of funds, illicit enrichment and money laundering carried out through four offshore shell companies in the Cayman Islands. Bank Audi subsequently announced Hanna's resignation.
Naharnet
Kurdistan24
Salameh headed Lebanon's central bank from 1993 to July 2023 and has denied all wrongdoing. He also faces investigations in France, Switzerland and Germany, and has been subject to an international arrest warrant issued by French authorities since May 2023.
MTV Lebanon
Al Jazeera

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Riad Salameh ran one of history's most reckless financial schemes, and Lebanon is still paying for it. Sayrafa handed billions in arbitrage profits to the well-connected while ordinary depositors lost everything, and shell companies funneled public funds straight into private pockets. The indictment is long overdue — this wasn't mismanagement, it was deliberate looting.

Rania Khalek on X

Lorientlejour

The Economist

Narrative B

Prosecuting Riad Salameh matters, but pinning Lebanon's financial collapse on one man lets the real culprits walk free. The broader political-financial network — bankers, ministers and parliamentary enablers — built and sustained the system that ruined millions of depositors. Without dismantling that entire architecture, the trial is little more than political theater dressed up as justice.

Jean Riachi on X

Now Lebanon

Alia Moubayed on X

Narrative C

After three decades leading Lebanon’s central bank, Riad Salameh maintained monetary stability, controlled inflation, strengthened the banking sector and supported households and productive sectors. His policies helped sustain the economy through repeated crises, while a central bank cannot single-handedly resolve a systemic financial collapse. Due process and the presumption of innocence must prevail over political pressure and public condemnation.