Lebanon security forces sent to raid home of central bank governor

Lebanon’s state security forces remain positioned outside the home of central bank governor Riad Salameh on Wednesday, a judicial source told The National, after an attempted raid on his home on Tuesday night proved unsuccessful.

State security were sent to Mr Salameh’s home on Tuesday evening, but failed to get into the building.

Tuesday’s attempt marks the second unsuccessful raid on the governor’s property. Mr Salameh, the subject of two separate corruption investigations in Lebanon, has failed to appear at multiple hearings.

The judicial source called Mr Salameh’s reluctance to co-operate with the judiciary a “provocation” and said further action would be taken soon.

“We have to do our work. We will take all legal measures to ensure our work is done,” the source told The National.

Mr Salameh was reportedly not at the property in the town of Rabieh, on the northern edge of Greater Beirut, at the time of the raid.

Judge Ghada Aoun issued a subpoena earlier this year after Mr Salameh, 71, failed to appear for questioning three times.

State security failed to locate him in February when they tried to raid his Rabieh home, sparking a controversy with another security agency that is accused of protecting him.

Mr Salameh has come under intense scrutiny since the country’s financial collapse in 2019, which has pushed more than three quarters of the country into poverty.

The raid comes at a time of heightened tension between Mr Salameh and the Lebanese judiciary.

Lebanese media reported in early June that prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat had issued charges against Mr Salameh and his younger brother Raja Salameh for misappropriation of funds, money laundering and tax evasion, among other charges.

This came two days after the brothers filed a lawsuit against Mr Oueidat for gross misconduct.

Raja Salameh was released on May 22 after spending nearly a month in detention on a record bail amount of 100 billion Lebanese pounds ($3.7 million).

Ms Aoun ordered him to be detained after questioning him over apartments bought in Paris, and she charged the brothers with illicit enrichment.