The Bank of Lebanon announced on Thursday that it had initiated legal proceedings to recover allegedly misappropriated public funds, an initiative aimed at strengthening its liquidity and supporting a financial system weakened by years of crisis.
The governor of Banque du liban, Karim SouaidThe institution indicated that it had filed a criminal complaint against a former senior central bank official, a former banking executive, and a lawyer. They are suspected of having benefited from public funds through complex financial arrangements and shell companies registered abroad, particularly in offshore jurisdictions.
According to the governor, these operations facilitated the illicit transfer of significant sums of money out of Lebanon at a time when the country was sinking into one of the worst financial crises in its history. The central bank now intends to play an active role in the procedures to identify, freeze, and, where appropriate, repatriate the assets in question.
This initiative is a continuation of the investigations targeting the former governor. Riad Salamehwho headed the Bank of Lebanon for nearly three decades. His tenure was marred by accusations of corruption, illicit enrichment, and poor governance, leading to investigations both in Lebanon and abroad. Salameh has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Karim Souaid He specified that the central bank would cooperate with foreign judicial authorities, particularly in Europe, to exchange information and evidence. The stated objective is to obtain court convictions and the confiscation of assets deemed illegal, in order to improve the institution's liquidity situation.
The governor stressed that any recovered funds would help stabilize the central bank and, ultimately, support Lebanese depositors, whose savings have been largely frozen since the collapse of the banking system in 2019. Despite these announcements, many Lebanese remain skeptical about the authorities' ability to carry out deep reforms and restore confidence in the financial sector.
