After the Interpol Memorandum, is the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon Fleeing to the UAE?

The fate of Riad Salameh, the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, is shrouded in mystery after the issuance of an international arrest warrant by the French judiciary on May 16th, followed by a similar warrant issued by the German judiciary.

It is expected that additional warrants will be issued by the judiciaries of European countries that cooperate with German and French authorities in investigating Salameh and his brother, Raja, on suspicion of embezzling approximately $300 million in public funds.

Information regarding this fate is conflicting, with some reports indicating that he will leave for the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, while others affirm that he will complete his full term until July 2023 under political protection.

There are discussions about arranging a political deal to secure a safe exit for Salameh, who has made veiled threats toward politicians in his recent media appearances. This is due to his role as the “keeper” of their financial secrets and secret deals for over three decades while heading the financial authority in Lebanon.

 

European Pursuits

The French Judge, who is in charge of investigating the funds and assets of the governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, issued an international arrest warrant against Salameh after he failed to appear for the scheduled questioning session in Paris on May 16, 2023.

According to judicial documents, French prosecutors intend to bring preliminary fraud charges against Riad Salameh, as reported by Reuters.

However, Salameh quickly rejected the decision of the French judge and stated that she did not comply with the legal deadlines stipulated in French and international laws. He also mentioned that he would appeal the judge’s decision.

The Lebanese authorities had not officially received the red notice issued by Interpol against Salameh on May 19, 2023, when a German arrest warrant against him was also issued.

During an interview with the local station, Al-Jadeed, on May 23, 2023, the investigative judge at the German Public Prosecution Office, Rana Iskandar, revealed that the warrant was issued by the German Public Prosecution Office and included five individuals, including Salameh. She added that the charges against Salameh include embezzlement of $330 million, and the German judiciary has seized five properties belonging to him.

Notably, Salameh’s absence was justified by his lawyer, Pierre-Olivier Sur, who stated to AFP that he was not informed of the obligation to appear before the French judiciary.

According to Lebanese legal sources cited by the agency, the Lebanese authorities failed to notify Salameh of the summons, despite four attempts by the police to deliver it to his workplace, where he spends most of his time.

Salameh no longer appears publicly amidst talks of him establishing a semi-permanent presence in his heavily guarded, fortified office.

This is a result of the ongoing judicial pursuits against him, with Lebanese Judge Ghada Aoun, who is close to former President Michel Aoun, attempting to arrest him multiple times through State Security.

This has led the public, particularly the depositors who have lost their savings, to accuse the political authorities of colluding with the governor and protecting him.

Hardly a week goes by without a protest demonstration taking place in front of the Central Bank on the famous “Hamra” street in the capital, Beirut, but without any avail.

With the consecutive arrest warrants, the Lebanese authorities were compelled to take action. The General Prosecutor, Judge Imad Qabalan, scheduled an interrogation session for Salameh on May 24, 2023.

This came after the government, through the Minister of Justice, Henri Khoury, announced that the decision to arrest Salameh rests solely with the Lebanese judiciary and that they would not intervene in the case but leave it to the relevant judges.

Interestingly, Qabalan succeeded in notifying the governor, who attended the session and left freely afterward.

According to a high-level Lebanese judicial source cited by AFP, Judge Qabalan decided to keep Salameh under investigation, prohibit him from traveling, and confiscate his Lebanese and French passports.

Subsequently, Qabalan sent a report containing the minutes of the session to France, requesting that the French Judge provide him with the French investigation file.

 

Protection of the Governor

Under the title Extensive Protection Prevents Salameh’s Dismissal, journalist Roula Ibrahim wrote in the local newspaper Al-Akhbar on May 25, 2023, that those within and outside the government regard Salameh as an untouchable emperor.

She pointed out that Salameh enjoyed special privileges, such as closing the doors of the Palace of Justice, keeping employees confined to their offices even after working hours, stopping all elevators, and deploying gendarmerie forces at the entrances.

She added: “He was allowed to enter through the back door, unlike all other citizens, to ensure his peace of mind. He then rested for about an hour in the judge’s office before leaving, honored.”

Ibrahim also highlighted that “the Lebanese judiciary’s demand for the French to extradite Salameh implies their acceptance of his trial in Lebanon, which is unlikely.”

She concluded that “the case will remain pending until further notice,” relying on the stance of Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil, who declared his refusal to dismiss Salameh.

The government session’s agenda was devoid of any item regarding dismissal to emphasize the political protection he enjoys.

Despite the “address” directed by Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh al-Shami to his superior Najib Mikati, calling for Salameh’s dismissal due to “the gravity of the suspicions and accusations leveled against him and their negative repercussions on monetary policy and the banking sector,” he also pointed out the impact on “the credibility of the government and all individuals involved in the reform process and negotiations with international institutions.”

Meanwhile, journalist Farah Mansour quoted the governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, stating during his hearing before the General Prosecutor: “Hold me accountable in Lebanon, do not surrender me to the French judiciary.”

Mansour, in an article for the online newspaper Al-Modon on May 25, 2023, indicated that the governor “trusts the Lebanese judiciary because he knows well that he will not be severely punished or as he deserves.”

It wondered: “Why couldn’t the Lebanese security agencies inform him of the date of his French session?” and added: “The answer has become clear: the governor does not want to appear before the French judiciary, fearing his arrest.”

Mansour cited unnamed judicial sources predicting that “the number of arrest warrants against the governor has exceeded 11, especially since more than 12 countries are investigating the case of the governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon and his properties scattered in Europe.”

Before his appearance before the Lebanese judiciary, Salameh had sent a message to the political authorities during his interview with the Arab channel Al-Hadath on May 18, 2023, where he was found inside the headquarters of the central bank.

During the interview, he advised the judiciary to “start with politicians rather than the governor of the central bank.”

This was considered by activists and observers as an indication of a potential confrontation between Salameh and the political authorities in case they abandon him and fail to protect him, as he threatens to disclose the secrets he holds.

 

The Box of Secrets

The journalist specializing in economic affairs, Obada Alladan, discussed the changing stance of Hezbollah toward Salameh.

In an article published on the Asas Media website on May 24, 2023, titled Why Did the Aounists and Hezbollah Abandon Salameh? Alladan stated: “After being at the forefront of the attack on the financial system, Hezbollah and its affiliated media have fallen into complete silence since the start of European prosecutions. The same is true for its deputies and ministers.”

Salameh explicitly attributed his rejection, in an interview with Al-Hadath channel, to “condemnation of the illegal banking practices carried out by Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association,” which he linked to his deep relationship with Hezbollah.

This association serves as the financial arm of Hezbollah and its actual bank, operating outside the Lebanese laws, and it has previously been placed on the U.S. Treasury Department’s sanctions list.

Alladan pointed out: “This is just the tip of the iceberg of the cooperation between the governor and the party, which goes deeper, starting from facilitating circumvention of U.S. sanctions on Hezbollah, through Salameh’s refusal to engage in any effort to narrow down its external sources of funding, and ending with Salameh complying with the party’s request to enter the dollar-buying system from the market on its behalf through Hassan Moukalled’s sanctioned company.”

On the other hand, journalist Tony Boulos quoted an anonymous source close to Salameh, stating that Salameh “will not remain silent about being turned into a scapegoat on behalf of Lebanese politicians.”

Boulos added in his article in Independent Arabia on May 20, 2023, also citing the same source, that Salameh is “a box of secrets spanning more than 30 years, capable of causing an earthquake of scandals.”

The source confirmed to Boulos that Salameh “will start leaking some scandals involving politicians in the upcoming phase” and will also reveal “evidence of blackmail operations he was subjected to by politicians to force him into making certain decisions,” including the decision to support a number of goods for two years, which drained around 20 billion dollars from the central bank’s reserves.

Based on these factors, there are media reports and leaks suggesting that the Lebanese political forces holding power are seeking a political deal with the United States to secure a safe exit for Riad Salameh from his position and from Lebanon as a whole.

This is intended to shield him from trials and prevent the exposure of those who participated with Salameh in suspicious deals and provided him with political support.

 

Safe Exit

Salameh has always been known as “America’s man” in Lebanon, having previously worked at Merrill Lynch, a global financial services company based in New York, before his appointment to his current position.

The American support for Salameh has always prevented his exclusion from his position or his local prosecution, and it stands as an obstacle to his surrender to the Europeans.

In this context, journalist Mohamad Barakat said on Twitter that “a month ago, America imposed sanctions on the Rahme brothers and strongly hit the French deal, objecting to the nomination of Suleiman Frangieh, a friend of the Rahme family, for the presidency.”

The Rahme family holds significant financial influence in various sectors such as oil and electricity. The United States imposed sanctions on Raymond and Teddy Rahme on April 4, 2023.

Barakat added: “France responded with an arrest warrant for the governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon.”

This bank was established by the United States half a century ago, with one of its main objectives being to separate the Syrian and Lebanese currencies from the French franc and link them to the dollar as part of a plan to establish central banks that would inherit France’s influence in the Middle East.

Barakat concluded that the governor of the central bank, whom America considers more important than the president of the republic in Lebanon, is a “ping-pong ball” in an American-French conflict “that is expanding in our lands and affecting our destinies and funds from China to Beirut.”

Meanwhile, political writer Ahmed al-Ayoubi said: “It is supposed that by the end of July 2023, the long tenure of Riad Salameh will come to an end, and he will have secretly left Lebanon for Sharjah, where he will establish his presence in the upcoming phase.”

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, he added that Salameh chose the UAE as his destination to settle and embark on a new journey, considering that his strength lies in his “secrets and hidden documents, somewhere kept as a life insurance policy.”

He emphasized that Salameh’s choice of Sharjah is due to the absence of any treaties or agreements required between it and the European Union or between it and the United States.

Similarly, Journalist Roni Alpha confirms that Salameh will depart for the UAE once his term ends, as the U.S. administration has prepared infrastructure to assist him in continuing his work from there and ensuring his and his family’s protection from any potential threats to their lives.

Alpha further states in an interview with Al-Estiklal that “the Americans have made a decision to protect Salameh and the strategic secrets in his possession.”

He points out that if these secrets were exposed, they could ignite the country and implicate many individuals, and in such circumstances, the common practice is to get rid of the person to get rid of their secrets.