Paris court to debate seizure of Lebanese bank chief French assets

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Apr 2023 21:27
1 Shares

BDL chief Riad Salameh's assets in France might be in hot waters, as the French prosecution is looking into their seizure in light of recent developments.

Frustrated depositors react during a rally against Central Bank Gov. Riad Salameh in Beirut, Lebanon, March 24, 2023 (AP)

The Paris Court of Appeal will address Tuesday the validity of numerous seizures being made on the real estate and banking assets in Europe of Lebanese Central Bank governor Riad Salameh, amid suspicions of the official having acquired them through the misappropriation of Lebanese public funds.

Salameh has long maintained his innocence since the case was opened against him in the wake of the Lebanese financial crisis. Having been questioned in mid-march by several European judges probing him and his actions, Salameh claimed to have been innocent.

France, Germany, and Luxembourg announced at the end of March 2022 the freezing of 120 million Euros of Lebanese assets linked to Salameh and four other people.

French media reported Sunday that the French court will be debating a request made by the defendant for the restitution of numerous seizures carried out by the country of Salameh's assets, which included apartments in the 16th arrondissement of Paris and the Champ-Elysées.

The assets, valued at tens of millions of dollars, are awaiting a decision from Paris after the Public Prosecutor's Office asked for confirmation of the seizures.

Reportedly, the public prosecutor's office is concerned that France would lose the right to confiscate the BDL governor's assets in the event of a possible judicial conviction.

"To hit [Riad Salameh] in the wallet is the main concrete action possible in this case," a source familiar with the matter said, according to French media, adding that Lebanon refuses to extradite its nationals and tries them on its soil if convicted abroad.

One lawyer for civil parties has demanded the confirmation of these seizures on the basis of "very powerful evidence."

NGO Sherpa and the Collectif des victimes des pratiques frauduleuses et criminelles au Liban (CPVCL) lawyer William Bourdon said "the requests for release are as much a rearguard battle as a communication operation."

The French judicial inquiry has existed since July 2021 in light of other European and Lebanese investigations. However, investigation documents have found that the embezzlement scheme in question is based mainly on a British Virgin Islands-registered company, which was created in 2001 by the Mossack Fonseca firm that was implicated in the Panama Papers.

Back in 2021, French prosecutors said that the investigation into Salameh's fortune was handed over to French anti-corruption courts, while it was clarified that he could be summoned for questioning by French judges, who can also collaborate with investigators in other countries and seize his assets.

Moreover, Salameh's brother, Raja, was authorized by the Lebanese Central Bank, headed by his brother, to trade Lebanese treasury bills and Eurobonds for a commission.

Later on, it was alleged that the commission was transferred to Swiss bank accounts belonging to Raja. The French justice system recently voiced concerns about "difficult, if not impossible" obstacles, as Salameh, the governor of the institution in charge of lifting banking secrecy, has been asking for authorization to disclose to the justice systems the transaction records of the Lebanese bank accounts of Raja and Riad Salameh.

Riad, his brother, son, a nephew, and an aide, have been facing accusations of fraudulently accumulating a massive fortune in Europe.

Salameh is yet to be implicated, though he is expected to be interviewed by a French judge in mid-May, though it is uncertain whether the Lebanese state will allow him to fly.

Meanwhile, the BDL chief's lawyer is arguing that the French investigation could collapse because of so-called "irregularities".

In light of the behemoth legal troubles he is facing, it was reported in March that Salameh said he would not seek to renew his term once his six-year stint expires in July.

"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 Saudi news agency Asharq.

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

On January 16, AFP reported that European investigators have begun interviewing high-profile witnesses in Lebanon as part of an investigation into Salameh's riches, as he is being blamed for Lebanon's catastrophic economic crisis, ranked by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent history.