Court orders seizure of Lebanon central bank chief’s assets

A Lebanese court has ordered seizure of assets of central bank governor Riad Salameh.

In a statement from the Ministry of Justice, Judge Faisal Makki ruled that Salameh’s assets — including his house in Beirut’s Rabieh area, other property and personal allocation in Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s central bank — would be seized with immediate effect, an Al Arabiya English report said on Monday.

A group of lawyers filed a lawsuit last month alleging that the governor had violated a number of articles in the penal code including committing fraud, job negligence, and undermining the finances of the state, the report said. The lawyers were identified as :

Hassan Adel Bazzi, Haitham Adnan Ezzo, Jad Othman Tohme, Pierre Paul Gemayel and Francoise Elias Kamel, who represent the “People want to reform the system” group, who accused Salameh of job negligence and embezzlement.

The ruling comes as Salameh draws increasing criticism for his complicity in a poorly-managed banking and finance sector, which many have likened to a regulated Ponzi scheme.

Saudi Gazette/LF