A Lebanese judge raided the central bank in Beirut on Tuesday in search of its governor Riad Salameh, after state security forces failed to find him at one of his houses earlier in the day.
Judge Ghada Aoun, a state prosecutor, has charged Mr Salameh and his brother Raja with illicit enrichment.
But the 71-year-old governor could not be found, and Ms Aoun said she was unable to search for Mr Salameh in Banque du Liban's offices.
“We immediately received a judicial order [to leave],” she said. Central bank employees then began a three-day strike following the raid.
“The dignity of the institution and its employees comes first. We refuse to be treated with militia methods and we announce the strike”, said Abbas Awada, the head of the central bank’s employee union.
“We are not defending Riad Salameh but the institution, and we do not accept these methods.”
A separate statement by the bank's employees called on authorities to “intervene to put an end to these inappropriate behaviours by Judge Ghada Aoun, which deviate from all legal principles … so that we do not have to regret announcing an open strike.”
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said the raid was “not the appropriate solution” to Mr Salameh's case.
“What is required is to solve this case with a prior political agreement on a central bank governor and then take the appropriate legal course after,” he said.
Mr Salameh is at the centre of two corruption investigations in Lebanon, but has failed to appear at several hearings.
A previous raid last month by Ms Aoun and security forces on Mr Salameh’s property in Rabieh, in northern Beirut, failed to locate him. Banque du Liban staff went on a one-day strike a week later to protest against “the unjust situation against the central bank and its employees, and to avoid later escalation”.
Mr Salameh is one of Lebanon’s most controversial figures and has held the governor role for three decades. An economic collapse that began in 2019 has plunged much of the population into poverty and seen the local currency lose more than 90 per cent of its value.
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Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 5
Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'
Huddersfield 0
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Results
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The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.