An international travel ban has been imposed on the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, for which Interpol has issued a red notice.

According to reports in the Lebanese press, Selame went to the Ministry of Justice and gave a statement to the Court of Appeal judge, Imad Kabalan, about the decision made by Interpol.

Kabalan re-imposed a travel ban on Selame, due to corruption cases brought against him in Lebanon.

By Judge Kabalan’s decision, French and Lebanese passports belonging to Selame were also confiscated.

THE FRENCH JUDICIAL BRANCH AND THE INTERPOL DECISION

In the lawsuit filed in Paris, the capital of France, against Governor Selame of the Lebanese Central Bank on allegations of “money laundering, embezzlement and corruption,” the court issued an “international arrest” decision on May 16. .

Interpol, which issued a “red notice” after the court decision in Paris, submitted the memorandum regarding the request for Selame’s arrest to the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior on May 19.

The Ministry of the Interior had stated that the request would be made effective in accordance with the decision of the Lebanese judiciary.

Salame, 72, who has served as Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon for 30 years, expires this month. Salame’s immunity must be lifted before he can be arrested in Lebanon.

CORRUPTION LAWSUITS AGAINST SALAME

The governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Salame, was first prosecuted in January 2021 by the Swiss judicial authorities on charges of “embezzlement, money laundering and corruption”.

The Swiss Attorney General’s Office reported that the Forry Company, owned by Salame’s brother Raja Selame, received $326 million in fees and commissions between 2002 and 2014 for the sale of Eurobonds and Treasury bills belonging to the Central Bank of Lebanon.

On the other hand, the Lebanese Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Selame in April 2021, after Switzerland requested Lebanon’s assistance with its investigation request.

Selame announced on November 17, 2021 that a company audited the documents related to all investments and money transfers and would present them to the judicial authorities.

The chief prosecutor of the Jabal Lebanon court, Gade Avn, announced that a travel ban was imposed on Riyadh Salame on January 11, 2022, and on February 19, 2022, he decided to freeze his movable and immovable assets in the Metn region of Lebanon. , where Selame resides.

Selame also gave a statement on the accusations against him in the presence of a Europe judicial committee on March 16, 2023 in Beirut. (AA)