Salameh’s head of Lebanon’s central bank was slapped with a travel ban Business and Economic News

Salameh is being investigated in Lebanon and several European countries for alleged misconduct, including money laundering.

Beirut, Lebanon – A Lebanese judge has banned the Lebanese governor, Riad Salameh Banque, from traveling on Tuesday, as he boasted that he was once the guardian of the country’s economy as he is being investigated for financial misconduct at home and abroad.

“An interrogation is scheduled for Thursday, based on the clear evidence we have,” said Judge Ghada Aoun, who is investigating Al Jazeera Salameh. “There is important information that we need to check in the questionnaires.”

The judge questioned senior central bank staff this morning. Reuters News reported for the first time that the ban came into force immediately.

Lawyers for an activist group called “People demand regime reform” filed a bill to impose a travel ban on Salameh earlier Tuesday.

A lawyer for the Haitham Ezzo group told Al Jazeera that Salameh is charged with a number of financial crimes, including illegal enrichment, money laundering, embezzlement and embezzlement of public funds.

Ezzo added that the lawyers have evidence that Salameh rented a small apartment on the Elysee Field in Paris through the Lebanese central bank at an inflated price.

“He’s personally taking advantage of the difference,” Ezzo said.

Once his financial prowess is claimed, Salameh is responsible for the financial collapse of many Lebanese banks that have left the country’s banks insolvent and wiped out the livelihood savings of many Lebanese.

Salameh is currently conducting research in Lebanon and four European countries. Switzerland and France opened an investigation last year to launder money allegedly involved.

Salameh has repeatedly denied that he has done anything wrong in the nearly three decades he has led the Bank of Lebanon. He says the charges against him are politically motivated and that his personal wealth was accumulated before he became governor of the central bank.

Tuesday’s travel ban comes as the Lebanese pound continues to curl, losing 15 percent of its value in recent days. It has lost more than 95 percent of its value since the country entered the crisis in late 2019. Three-quarters of the population live in poverty, and the government has not met since last October.

Ezzo says his activist group wants the Lebanese courts to go even further and freeze all of Salameh’s assets. In July 2020, they filed a lawsuit to freeze some of their assets.