Lebanese authorities will on Friday release former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who posted a record-high bail after nearly 13 months in detention over alleged financial crimes committed during his tenure, a Lebanese judicial source said.
Riad Salameh, Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese authorities will on Friday release former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who posted a record-high bail after nearly 13 months in detention over alleged financial crimes committed during his tenure, a Lebanese judicial source said.
Once viewed as the linchpin of the banking system, Salameh, 74, saw his standing crumble as a 2019 meltdown of the sector he oversaw impoverished Lebanese depositors and froze most out of their accounts. He was subsequently battered by corruption allegations both in Lebanon and abroad.
Salameh was arrested in Lebanon in September 2024 and detained pending an investigation into charges including the embezzlement of public funds.
After completing legal procedures, Salameh, who is currently in hospital, will be released on Friday, having posted bail of $14 million and 5 billion Lebanese pounds ($55,866), the source said, describing it as the highest bail figure ever recorded in Lebanon.
The public prosecutor has also banned him from travelling outside Lebanon for the next year as legal proceedings over his charges continue, the source added.
($1 = 89,500.0000 Lebanese pounds)
Reporting by Laila Bassam
Lebanese defense officials now say their findings point squarely at Hezbollah’s covert Unit 121 in the killing of veteran Lebanese Forces official Elias Al-Hasrouni, a direct challenge to Hezbollah’s insistence that the 70-year-old died in a routine car accident.
With just over two weeks to go before Pope Leo XIV’s much-anticipated visit to Beirut (November 30–December 2), Lebanese authorities have launched an official website.
From regulating the price of chicken to levying fees on cigarettes, Hamas is seeking to widen control over Gaza as U.S. plans for its future slowly take shape, Gazans say, adding to rivals' doubts over whether it will cede authority as promised.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.