2023-08-11 07:28:42
The beginning of Riad Salamé’s retirement will have been quickly disturbed. Less than two weeks following leaving office at the head of the Banque du Liban, the former governor was sanctioned on Thursday, August 10, by the United States, as well as by Canada and the United Kingdom. In the eyes of the US Treasury Department, its “corrupt and illegal actions have contributed to the collapse of the rule of law in Lebanon”.
Washington accuses the ex-grand financier, 73 years old and who was in office for thirty years, of having abused his position of power (…) to enrich himself and his associates by funneling hundreds of millions of dollars through layered front companies to invest in European real estate. » He is also accused of having “placed his personal financial interests and ambitions above those of the people he served, even as the Lebanese crisis deepened. » Lebanon has been in the midst of an economic collapse since 2019.
The measures taken by the United States and its partners mean in particular that the assets of Mr. Salamé – as well as those of his relatives who are also blacklisted – are frozen in these countries. The person concerned told Archyde.com that he intended “dispute” decision. The US administration claims that the “coordinated sanctions” are coming ” complete “ ongoing investigations in Europe and Lebanon. Two arrest warrants were issued in May by the French and German courts. Presenting himself as a ” scapegoat “the former governor has always refuted accusations of embezzlement of public funds and money laundering.
Warning to political leaders
Mr. Salamé has long been considered a faithful partner of the United States. At the head of the central bank, he had access to sensitive data, including that which may relate to Hezbollah financiers, which Washington is tracking. The fact that he was able to complete his last term was seen by observers as a sign that the United States had wanted to spare its former ally. “However, it was well known that the Americans no longer supported Riad Salamé”tempers a senior Lebanese official, before ironically: “It will have taken them longer to reach the conclusions of the European investigators. »
US sanctions are “certainly late, but they are far from trivialbelieves lawyer Karim Daher, active in the fight once morest corruption. They will complicate any transaction on other financial markets. Banks that operate in dollars do not want to take the risk of dealing with a person on file with the US Treasury. These sanctions are also a sign that the noose is tightening internationally around Riad Salamé. »
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