The Minister of Justice Henry Khoury announced the approval of the French judiciary to seize the funds and property belonging to the Governor of the Banque du Liban, his bother , Raja Salameh, Marianne Howeik and Anna Kozakova, in favor of the Lebanese state.
Commenting on the Khoury’s announcement , analyst Sami Khoury told Ya Libnan , this is a step in the right direction but seizing these funds in favor of the Lebanese state is like handing over the loot from one thief to another .
He added: ” We all know that Salameh is a crook and thief but the whole ruling case is a bunch of thieves too and if France, Europe and the US want to help the Lebanese people they should confiscate all the billions the ruling class stole and deposited in the western banks. Once confiscated it should be handed over to the world bank , which in turn should return to the depositors .”
“Just like the European banks were able to identify the stolen funds of Salameh and his band they should be also able to do the same for the ruling class” , he added and concluded :
This is the only decent way to compensate the depositors who lost all their hard earned savings
Ready to leave
In a related development , a media report said on Monday that Salameh will leave his post at the end of July when his term expires
Deputy governor Wassim Mansouri, who is close to the Shiite Duo of Hezbollah and Amal is expected to replace Salameh until a a new government is appointed
Mansouri returned last week from Washington, where he met with officials from the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and other U.S. officials concerned with the banking sector in Lebanon, according a report by the Al Akhbar newspaper
The pro Hezbollah daily claimed that “Mansouri has been quoted as saying that he sensed no U.S. objection to him assuming the governor’s missions and that it was agreed to coordinate with the relevant U.S. authorities regarding the management of the banking sector and the financial and monetary situations.”
Al-Akhbar added
“The U.S. officials, however, stressed to Mansouri the need to appoint an incumbent governor,”
Upon the proposal of the Minister of Finance, the Governor is appointed by decree sanctioned by the Council of Ministers, for a six-year term.
The current caretaker cabinet is not in a position to make such a move , because Lebanon is still without a president who would be in a position to designate a new PM who would form a new government .
The four deputy governors are Wasim Mansouri (Shiite ), Salim Shaheen (Sunn), Bashir Yaqan (Druze) and Alexander Moradian (Armenian Catholic).
Mohammed Baasiri, was the Sunni deputy governor until 2020, when the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab removed him and replaced him with Shaheen
Update:
French lawyers, Emmanuel Daoud and Jean-Claude Bouvet, who represented the Lebanese government in the case against Salameh are behind the proposal to seize the funds and property belonging to the the Banque du Liban, his bother , Raja , Marianne Howeik and Anna Kozakova, in favor of the Lebanese state according to the Justice minister Henri Khoury
The two lawyers offered pro bono services and signed contracts with the Minister of Justice in early April. They were submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval, but the Lebanese cabinet refused citing Daoud’s membership in the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, or Licra.
The cabinet accused Daoud of defending “Zionist ideas”.
Daoud is a renowned defence attorney in Paris known for his expertise in international criminal law and human rights. He has defended several high-profile cases both in France and internationally.
Karim Daher, lawyer and founder of the Lebanese Association for Taxpayers’ Rights and Interests (Aldic) said the allegations of Zionism were being used by the cabinet as a pretext.
Global consulting firm Kroll, which was entrusted with a forensic audit of Lebanon’s central bank in 2020, was dismissed under similar allegations, Daher said.
The real motive behind the decision was to obstruct the Lebanese state from defending its interests, he said.
“If Lebanon becomes a civil party in the case, it would have access to the files in France, which could potentially uncover more evidence for new investigations in Lebanon or implicate additional individuals in the existing case,” he said.
“The ruling class wants to avoid the leak of information that could compromise them and lead to further legal proceedings.
“They also don’t want to set an example of accountability by seizing misappropriated assets. If they were to do it for Mr Salameh, it would imply that they should do the same for the entire ruling class.”
Daher said that it was not the first time a procedure to recover ill-gotten assets has been blocked.
In 2021, Aldic provided legal advice to a Swiss law firm on how Lebanon could recover illicitly acquired assets invested in Switzerland, in case of trial.
The document was forwarded to former prime minister Hassan Diab.
It was never included on the agenda of the cabinet
European countries including France, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and Lichtenstein suspect Salameh of having embezzled more than $330 million from the central bank through his brother’s company, Forry Associates.
Both France and Germany have issued an arrest warrant for Salameh.
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