Lebanon gets German query on c.bank governor finances: Source

Lebanon has received a letter from Germany asking for information relating to the finances of Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Germany would be the fourth European country to seek such information from Beirut.

The person, who declined to be named, offered no further detail, while Salameh and Lebanese justice minister Henry Khoury did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

Lebanese judicial sources told Reuters last week that French and Luxembourg authorities had asked for information relating to bank accounts and assets belonging to Salameh, governor for nearly three decades.

Salameh has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The Swiss attorney general’s office last year said it had requested legal assistance from Lebanon in the context of a probe into “aggravated money laundering” and possible embezzlement of more than $300 million under Salameh at the central bank.

Lebanese judicial authorities have also opened a probe into Salameh.

Responding to a request for comment last week about the query from Luxembourg, Salameh told Reuters this was a “normal procedure” not a “legal suit.” “If they had filed a legal suit they don’t need help in the investigation,” he said.

Salameh’s role at the central banks has come under close scrutiny since Lebanon’s economic meltdown in 2019, which has seen the value of the currency collapse and swathes of the population pushed into poverty.

He still enjoys significant political backing in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in December Salameh should remain in position for now, saying “one does not change their officers during a war” - a reference to Lebanon’s financial crisis.

Read more:

Senior US diplomat talks Yemen, Lebanon with Saudi officials

IMF will only support a ‘comprehensive program’ for Lebanon: Georgieva

UN Security Council issues veiled criticism of Lebanon’s Hezbollah