Riad Salame, ex-head of Lebanon's central bank, charged with misappropriating 44.8 million dollars

The indictment of former bank chief Riad Salame follows the Central Bank’s announcement that it is taking legal action to recover public funds lost during Lebanon’s financial collapse.

Lebanese prosecutors have charged former central bank governor Riad Salame for his alleged role in a $44.8 million embezzlement case nearly ten months after a decision to refer him to trial.

Salame, 75, who led Banque du Liban for three decades before stepping down in July 2023, was indicted on charges of embezzlement, forgery and illicit enrichment, along with two legal advisers, according to judicial officials.

The case concerns consulting accounts at the central bank into which funds were deposited and then transferred to private accounts without the bank being notified, the officials said.

Former Mount Lebanon public prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun described the indictment as “an important development” but said the sums involved represented only a small part of a broader case, in which she has alleged that more than $8 billion was stolen from public funds.

The indictment follows a decision last week by a Beirut court to refer Salame to trial, marking the first formal legal action against him in Lebanon, despite multiple international investigations.

Lebanon’s central bank said it was seeking to recover embezzled funds and would join as a plaintiff in related cases.

Salame was released on bail last year and barred from travel. He and his brother face money-laundering and embezzlement investigations in several European countries, including France and Switzerland.