BEIRUT, Dec 28 (Reuters) – European investigators will go to Lebanon in January as a part of a cross-border probe into alleged fraud by Lebanese central financial institution governor Riad Salameh to the detriment of the Lebanese state, three judicial sources stated.
French, German and Luxembourg judicial officers and investigators will take part within the journey, which goals to maneuver ahead the corruption probe into Salameh first initiated by Swiss authorities in 2021, the sources informed Reuters.
Salameh, 72, has denied any wrongdoing, saying the probes are a part of a coordinated marketing campaign to make him a scapegoat for Lebanon’s 2019 monetary collapse, which has introduced elevated scrutiny of his three-decade tenure on the central financial institution.
A spokesperson for Eurojust, the European Union’s company for legal justice cooperation that has coordinated the probes into Salameh’s wealth was not instantly accessible for remark.
Spokespeople for French and Luxembourg judicial authorities didn’t instantly reply to emailed requests for remark, and Reuters couldn’t instantly attain German judicial authorities for remark.
In March, Eurojust introduced the seizure of some 120 million euros ($127.78 million) of Lebanese property in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco and Belgium.
Although the company didn’t identify any suspects, prosecutors within the German metropolis of Munich confirmed to Reuters that Salameh was a suspect within the case that led to the asset seizure.
Swiss authorities suspect Salameh, collectively together with his brother Raja, might have illegally taken greater than $300 million from the Lebanese central financial institution between 2002 and 2015, laundering a number of the cash in Switzerland, in line with Swiss court docket paperwork seen by Reuters.
In an interview with Reuters in November 2021, Riad Salameh denied any wrongdoing, saying no central financial institution or public Lebanese funds have been diverted.
In Germany, prosecutors have stated they have been investigating the chance that a number of the funds recognized by Swiss authorities have been used to amass actual property, notably in Munich.
For his or her half, French prosecutors try to find out whether or not the Salameh brothers used a few of these funds to amass actual property in France, together with a part of a constructing on the Champs Elysees, in line with folks accustomed to the matter.
And Luxembourg’s judiciary in November 2021 confirmed it had opened a legal case into Salameh, however declined to remark additional.
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Reporting by Timour Azhari
Enhancing by Tomasz Janowski
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