New suit filed against Salameh and Bank Audi's ex-CEO

Lebanon on Monday filed a lawsuit against former central bank governor Riad Salameh over accusations including embezzlement and illegal enrichment following a complaint lodged by his successor, a judicial official told AFP.

Salameh was placed in custody late last month after missing a hearing over the case and is being held under tight security at a government hospital outside Beirut.

A judge "filed legal proceedings against former central bank chief Riad Salameh and former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna," the judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Bank Audi is one of Lebanon's leading commercial banks.

The accusations include "setting up shell companies, misappropriating central bank funds and using those funds to fraudulently purchase shares and bonds from commercial banks, as well as illegal enrichment, money laundering and bribery," the official added.

The judge requested an arrest warrant be issued for Salameh, 76, and for the prosecutor's office to be consulted after Hanna has been questioned.

Hanna had recently posted bail of one million dollars.

The case was referred to another judge for further investigation and legal procedures.

In January, new central bank governor Karim Soueid announced he had filed a criminal complaint in Lebanon against Salameh and Hanna, without naming them, including over alleged misappropriation of funds, illicit enrichment and suspected money laundering.

Bank Audi subsequently announced Hanna's resignation after more than six decades of service.

The central bank had told AFP it was the "victim of the embezzlement of funds amounting to several hundred million euros, committed at its expense by its former governor... with the assistance of several individuals in his circle."

Salameh, who headed the central bank from 1993 to July 2023, is accused of having amassed a fortune during his time in the job and has faced numerous accusations including embezzlement and tax evasion in probes in Lebanon and abroad.

He was arrested in September 2024 and charged with offenses including the alleged embezzlement of $44 million from the central bank but was released a year later after posting record bail of over $14 million.

He has also been the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by French authorities since May 2023.

Salameh, who also holds French citizenship, has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has insisted he is being made a "scapegoat" for the country's economic collapse, which began in 2019.