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Lebanon’s central bank filed a legal complaint Thursday against a former senior bank official and a former banker, accusing them of illicit enrichment and embezzlement of central bank funds through offshore shell companies, Governor Karim Souaid said.
The aim is to recover misused or wasted funds, which could provide liquidity to help return depositors’ money, he explained.
Souaid did not name the individuals but the move comes amid ongoing investigations into former central bank governor Riad Salame, who has been accused of embezzling more than $300 million in public funds between 2002 and 2015.
In September 2024, the Lebanese judiciary issued an arrest warrant for Salame on multiple financial charges, including embezzlement of public funds. In April, an investigating judge referred him to trial on charges of embezzlement and illicit enrichment. Salame, who led Banque du Liban (BDL) for three decades before stepping down in July 2023, was released last August on a record $20 million bail and barred from traveling.
“Legal and judicial measures will be taken against anyone proven to have embezzled or misused funds from the Banque du Liban, leading to the depletion of the bank’s assets,” Souaid said at a press conference.
Souaid also said the central bank would join as a primary plaintiff in the state’s investigation into Forry Associates, a company established in the British Virgin Islands in 2001. The central bank alleges that Forry illegally collected commissions on every transaction involving the trading of financial instruments with BDL, diverting the funds instead of returning them to the bank.
Forry Associates is controlled by Raja Salameh, the younger brother of the former governor. Both brothers face ongoing investigations for money laundering and embezzlement in several European countries, including France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg.
A 2023 forensic audit by Alvarez & Marsal identified $333 million in wire payments made by the central bank to Forry Associates between 2002 and March 2015. Riad Salame acknowledged the transactions in 2021 but denied any wrongdoing, saying the payments were approved by the central bank’s board.
Further investigations linked Forry more directly to Salame. A 2021 Luxembourg judiciary probe found that on May 16, 2012, Forry transferred over €2.8 million to a Luxembourg-based firm controlled by Salame.
Souaid said the central bank is preparing additional legal action against other parties, including an unnamed company that allegedly benefited from a “shady” consulting account at BDL through which large sums were transferred with no connection to the bank’s mandates or depositors’ funds.
