By Laila Bassam and Timour Azhari
Beirut – Germany has informed Lebanon it has issued an arrest warrant for Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on corruption charges, including forgery, money laundering and embezzlement, a senior judicial source told Reuters on Tuesday.
A second source familiar with the matter confirmed the arrest warrant to Reuters. Salameh has denied any wrongdoing.
Salameh, 72, is being investigated in Lebanon and at least five European countries for allegedly taking hundreds of millions of dollars from Lebanon’s central bank to the detriment of the Lebanese state and laundering the funds abroad.
It is the second foreign arrest warrant reported to be issued for Salameh within a week. France issued a warrant for his arrest on May 16 after he failed to show up for a Paris court hearing.
On France’s request, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Salameh, citing charges of money laundering, fraud and participation in a criminal association with a view to committing offences punishable by 10 years of imprisonment.
(Reuters)
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