Lebanon’s judiciary agreed Tuesday to the release on bail of more than $20 million of former central bank governor Riad Salameh, detained for nearly a year on embezzlement charges, judicial officials said.
Salameh, 75, who headed the central bank for three decades, faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad.
He is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon’s economic crash, which the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, but has defended his legacy, insisting he is a “scapegoat”.
The judiciary “agreed to release Salameh on bail of $20 million in addition to five billion Lebanese pounds (around $56,000) and banned him from travel for a year starting from the date of this decision’s implementation”, the judicial official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media.
The decision relates to a case in which Salameh is accused of embezzling $44 million from the central bank, the official said, adding that the judiciary had issued release orders for him in two other cases last month.
A second judicial official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bail amount “is the highest in the history of the Lebanese judiciary”.
Salameh’s lawyer Mark Habka told AFP that “the bail is high and illegal, and I will speak to my client about the next steps”.
In April, a Lebanese judge issued an indictment for Salameh, charging him with embezzling $44 million from the central bank, as well as illicit enrichment and forgery. Bail was rejected at the time.
The second judicial official said the decision to release him came “in consideration of his health condition”.
The official said he would in any case have been released automatically on September 4 when his pre-trial detention order expires.
Salameh, who left office at the end of July 2023, has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, saying his wealth comes from private investment and his previous work at US investment firm Merrill Lynch.
str-lk/lg/kir
© Agence France-Presse
