In the event that Salama appears on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, it will be the first time that European judges hear him on suspicion of his and his brother Raja’s involvement in embezzlement cases.
In January, investigators from France, Germany and Luxembourg heard witnesses, including bank managers and current and former Banque du Liban employees, in investigations into money laundering and embezzlement cases in Lebanon linked to Salameh.
The European investigators arrived Monday in Beirut.
The judicial official stated that the first investigating judge in Beirut, Charbel Abu Samra, “sent a notification note to Salama through the Internal Security Forces, asking him to come to his office at ten (08:00 GMT) on Wednesday morning to hear him within the framework of” European letters.
The session will be attended by Judge Abu Samra, who will be entrusted with asking questions to Salama, in the presence of judges from France, Luxembourg and Belgium.
The European investigations focus on the relationship between the Banque du Liban and the “Fore Associates” company, which is registered in the Virgin Islands and has an office in Beirut, and its economic beneficiary is Raja Salameh. It is believed that the company played the role of intermediary to purchase treasury bonds and Eurobonds from the Central Bank by receiving a subscription commission, which was transferred to Salama’s accounts abroad.
A year ago, the European Judicial Cooperation Unit “Eurojust” announced that France, Germany and Luxembourg had frozen 120 million euros of Lebanese assets following an investigation targeting Salameh and four of his close associates, including his brother, on charges of money laundering and “embezzlement of public funds in Lebanon worth more than $330 million.” and 5 million euros, respectively, between 2002 and 2021.
And the Swiss weekly newspaper Sonntags-Zeitung reported last month that a large part of the amount ranging between 300 and 500 million dollars, which Salameh was accused of embezzling, was deposited in accounts in 12 Swiss banks.
In parallel with the European investigation, in April 2021, the Lebanese judiciary opened a local investigation regarding Salama’s wealth and its source, following being targeted by European investigations.
On February 23, the Lebanese judiciary charged Salameh, his brother, and his assistant, Marianne Al-Hawik, with crimes of embezzlement of public funds, forgery, illegal enrichment, money laundering, and violation of tax law.
A session to interrogate Salama as part of the local investigation was supposed to take place on Wednesday, but it was postponed to allow room for European investigators.
The judicial official stated that the European investigators will hear Salama alone on Wednesday, provided that other witnesses will be interviewed later.
Salama, who has been in office since 1993, has always denied the accusations once morest him, considering that his prosecution comes in the context of a political process to “tarnish” his image.
