Lebanon Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh says will not seek term renewal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Feb 2023 18:46

The banker has held his position for already 30 years and maintains the backing of some of Lebanon's most powerful political figures, including Nabih Berri, the House Speaker of the Lebanese parliament.

People pass by the Lebanese Central Bank, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022 (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

In an interview with Saudi news agency Asharq, the Governor of Lebanon's Central Bank, Riad Salameh, said on Friday that he will not seek to renew his term once his six-year stint expires in July this year.

"My decision is that, at the end of the term, it will be a page I turned in my life and I will move to work outside the central bank," Salameh told Asharq.

Local reports revealed that there has not yet been a general consensus over who would succeed Salameh.

The banker has held his position for already 30 years and maintains the backing of some of Lebanon's most powerful political figures.

On January 16, AFP reported that European investigators have begun interviewing high-profile witnesses in Lebanon as part of an investigation into the riches of Central Bank governor Riad Salameh.

The long-serving central bank chief is among the top officials largely blamed for Lebanon's catastrophic economic crisis, which the World Bank has labeled one of the worst in recent modern history.

In March, France, Germany, and Luxembourg seized properties and frozen assets totaling $130 million in a significant operation tied to a French investigation into Salameh's personal riches.

A judicial source said, as cited by AFP, that investigators from the three countries questioned Saad Andary, a former central bank vice governor, and Khalil Kassaf, a former employee of the banking control commission, on Monday morning.

Two Lebanese judges "will ask questions on behalf of the Europeans to the two witnesses," he affirmed, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.