Riad Salameh detained after missing judicial hearing

Lebanese authorities have arrested former central bank governor Riad Salameh at a hospital north of Beirut after he failed to appear for questioning in a widening investigation into the alleged misuse of Banque du Liban funds.

Salameh was detained at Bhannes Hospital on Friday after investigators searched three addresses linked to him. An arrest warrant was issued when judicial officials concluded that he had avoided a scheduled hearing and that the medical explanation submitted by his lawyer could not initially be verified.

The questioning had been scheduled before Court of Cassation prosecutor Samaranda Nassar. It concerned a complaint filed by Banque du Liban governor Karim Souaid over transactions and securities purchases involving the central bank and companies connected to shareholders in Bank Audi.

Salameh’s lawyer, Wassim Ghawi, had informed the judiciary that his client was unable to attend because of illness. Investigators subsequently sought confirmation of the hospital admission, while Salameh’s personal doctor was reportedly unable to verify his location. Police later found him at the medical facility and placed him under guard.

The arrest marks another escalation in Lebanon’s efforts to pursue the former governor, who led Banque du Liban from 1993 until July 2023. Salameh was released from custody in September 2025 after spending about a year in detention and paying bail of more than $14 million. He remained subject to a travel ban.

He has repeatedly denied allegations of embezzlement, money laundering, fraud and illicit enrichment. Salameh has maintained that his personal wealth came from inherited assets, investments and earnings from his earlier career as an investment banker.

The latest complaint is separate from several major cases already moving through Lebanese and European courts. Prosecutors have accused Salameh and two lawyers, Marwan Khoury and Michel Toueini, of embezzling $44.8 million from a central bank consultancy account. The charges also include forgery and illicit enrichment.

Khoury has denied receiving central bank money or participating in its financial transactions. Proceedings in that case have been transferred to Lebanon’s Court of Cassation, where rulings are final. The defendants could face further arrest warrants if they fail to attend future hearings.

A broader investigation centres on about $330 million in commissions transferred from Banque du Liban to Forry Associates, a British Virgin Islands company controlled by Salameh’s brother, Raja Salameh. Investigators suspect that money paid to Forry between 2002 and 2015 was moved through overseas bank accounts and used to acquire property and other assets.

Riad and Raja Salameh deny wrongdoing in the Forry case. Lebanese investigators are examining allegations of embezzlement, money laundering and illicit enrichment, while authorities in France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg have pursued connected inquiries.

European investigators have frozen bank accounts and seized properties associated with the Salameh family and their business network. Assets valued at about $92 million have been confiscated across several European cities. The portfolio includes luxury homes, commercial buildings and properties generating substantial rental income.

The international investigation has increasingly focused on financial institutions that processed transactions linked to Forry. HSBC Private Bank Suisse has been placed under formal investigation in France over suspected organised money laundering and conspiracy connected to the alleged diversion of central bank funds.

French investigators are assessing whether compliance warnings were ignored as money moved through accounts linked to Raja Salameh. HSBC has faced scrutiny over its handling of the relationship and the documentation used to justify the commissions.

Banque du Liban has adopted a more aggressive legal position under Souaid, who became governor in 2025. The central bank has joined proceedings as a plaintiff and has said that funds recovered through domestic or international cases should be directed towards depositors who lost access to their savings.

The institution has also filed complaints concerning transfers to shell companies in offshore jurisdictions. Souaid has pledged to exchange financial records with European investigators and pursue former officials or intermediaries suspected of diverting central bank assets.

Salameh was once credited with maintaining monetary stability after Lebanon’s civil war and during years of political turmoil. His standing collapsed after the financial system unravelled in 2019, leaving banks unable to repay depositors and triggering a steep fall in the Lebanese pound.

Critics accuse Banque du Liban under Salameh of using costly financial operations to attract dollars and conceal mounting losses. Supporters argue that governments repeatedly relied on the central bank to finance spending while failing to implement fiscal and structural reforms.