The Governor of the central financial institution of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, is accused of embezzling between $300 million and $500 million, a considerable quantity of which has reportedly landed within the accounts of 12 Swiss banks.
These allegations had been printed by Swiss weekly, SonntagsZeitung, on Sunday.
A Lebanese decide has lately initiated new proceedings towards Salameh, together with his brother Raja and former assistant Marianne Hoayek, for “embezzlement of public funds” and “cash laundering.”
These prices observe a number of current judicial investigations in Lebanon and overseas into suspicions of cash laundering and “illicit enrichment” by the Governor of Banque du Liban (BDL) – which he denies.
Swiss Monetary Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) has additionally been conducting preliminary investigations into 12 Swiss banks “for months,” associated to the “Lebanese context.” In response to a spokesperson, proceedings have been initiated towards two monetary establishments, however their names haven’t been made public.
SonntagsZeitung reported that Raja Salameh’s private account at HSBC in Geneva acquired a deposit of $250 million, with further funds deposited at UBS, Credit score Suisse, Julius Baer, EFG, and Pictet.
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The transactions had been facilitated by an offshore firm, Forry Associates, registered within the British Virgin Islands in 2001. The weekly additionally reveals that important quantities of cash had been used to buy actual property in a number of European nations.
In 2021, Lebanon started an investigation into the belongings of Salameh, after receiving a request for help from the legal professional basic in Switzerland in relation to investigations into over $300 million in fund actions made by the Governor and his brother Raja.
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