The Salameh clan's real estate empire in Europe includes luxurious mansions in the most expensive areas of some capitals and a portfolio of industrial and commercial buildings generating substantial rental income. This adds up to property worth $92 million – which has been seized by the authorities.
But it appears their empire stretches beyond Europe to the US, where the European judiciary has uncovered properties valued at more than $4.5 million tied to Raja Salameh, the central bank governor's brother – and probably more.
While EU investigators managed to follow the origin of the seized European assets to Forry Associates Ltd, the shell company implicated in allegedly diverting funds from Lebanon's central bank through an irregular contract between 2002 and 2016, The National was unable to directly track the funds' origin for these US investments.
Riad Salameh, the governor of Lebanon's central bank, with the help of his brother Raja Salameh, is suspected of orchestrating an alleged money laundering scheme through a 0.38% commission imposed by Forry on commercial banks for each transaction with the central bank, without any corresponding services in return.
The US judiciary has so far refrained from taking any legal action, which could potentially lead to the mapping and subsequent seizure of these assets – so verified information remains scarce.
But serious doubt lingers regarding the legitimacy of the funds.
Forry allegedly funnelled more than $330 million from the Lebanese central bank, yet only €120 million worth of assets have been seized to date, which leaves a substantial portion of the sum still unidentified.
Exclusive documents from the Monaco judiciary exposed the flow of funds from Raja's accounts at Julius Baer Monaco, which received millions of dollars in alleged Forry embezzled funds, then funnelled to his accounts in the US.
In a judicial decision, French judge Aude Buresi stressed that “the diverted funds are believed to have been transferred” and “laundered” through real estate investments in “Europe, the United States and Lebanon”.
While we have no detailed information on the Lebanese properties, French judicial documents seen by The National reveal that the governor's brother, who is also Forry's owner, is tied to expensive real estate in New York purchased during the period when the central bank had a contract with Forry.
The Salamehs' US real estate
While Europe appears as the first choice for Riad Salameh's real estate portfolio, whether in the name of his romantic partner or children, it seems that the US stands as the prime destination for Raja Salameh's investments.
Raja Salameh is alleged to be the sole associate in Wall Street Properties Limited, a Jersey-based company that holds all the shares of the company Screen Property Corporation, according to the document.
Jersey, a British Crown Dependency, has yet to enforce public disclosure of beneficial owners, despite committing to creating a public register in 2019 in line with EU standards.
In 2013, Screen Property Corporation, based in the US, acquired a luxurious apartment in a 42-storey building on Wall Street in Manhattan, right at the centre of America's main financial district, for $1.4 million.
Raja Salameh also holds shares in a Jersey-based company that indirectly owns a $3 million property bought in 2014 at 93 Worth Street, in the prime neighbourhood of Tribeca in Manhattan.
The company, called Caliber Properties Limited, with a 45 per cent ownership by Raja Salameh, was created solely to hold the shares of Caliber NY Property Corporation, an American company. Caliber NY Property Corporation, in turn, holds the property in Manhattan.
Screen Property Corporation acquired a luxurious apartment on 75 Wall Street in Manhattan for $1.4 million. Google Street View
The remaining shares are divided between Kamal Tabet, Raja Salameh's cousin, with a 45 per cent stake, and Mona Issa El Khoury, his sister, with a 10 per cent stake.
Ms El Khoury's son, Marwan Issa El Khoury, a director and legal representative of several Salameh-owned entities that are implicated in the alleged money laundering scheme, is also alleged to be the legal representative of the two Jersey-based companies and the director of the two US companies, accordingto the document.
Mr Issa El Khoury responded to The National's queries with a letter. Mona Issa El Khoury also responded to us with a letter.
According to banking documents obtained by The National, Caliber NY Property Corporation has an account at Interaudi Bank, whose beneficial owners are Raja Salameh and Mr Tabet.
The Monaco judiciary found out that Raja Salameh transferred a total of $1.3 million from his Monaco bank account, which was opened in 2012 at Julius Baer, to his personal US account at Interaudi Bank a year before the initial purchase took place.
His Monaco accounts received $1.6 million from his Swiss account at HSBC, which was funded exclusively by Forry.
“It cannot be ruled out that the funds in Raja Salameh's Swiss account may have an illicit origin”, according to the Monaco document.
Both Ms Issa El Khoury and Mr Tabet told The National the funding came from their personal savings.
Mr Tabet, a banker, “had a stellar and highly lucrative professional career in the US and Europe”, his lawyer Michael Haddad told The National.
“It is only through his hard work, professional success and investing experience that Mr Tabet earned the resources to build up his wealth and property portfolio”, he added.
He stressed that the three investors involved in the New York purchase are “independent " and just happened “to have a family relationship”.
Raja Salameh failed to respond to request for comment from The National.
In the past, he has denied any wrongdoing, presenting Forry's activities as those of a legitimate broker.
The European judiciary did not uncover evidence of any actual operational activities.
The property on 93 Worth Street, located in the prime neighbourhood of Tribeca in Manhattan, was purchased for $3 million in 2014. Google Street View.
A family affair
But Raja Salameh also possesses properties in Europe that have not previously been identified in the media.
On October 21, 2021, at 6.30am, six French police officers arrived unannounced at his residence in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
They conducted a surprise raid on his apartment, resulting in his immediate detention for 24 hours. This incident has not been previously reported.
Raja Salameh, declared as “unemployed” in the hearing's minutes seen by The National, was subjected to hours of interrogation by the French police concerning the legitimacy of his French property purchases in relation to his declared income.
Among the assets under suspicion is an apartment purchased in 2013 on Avenue Victor Hugo in the 16th arrondissement. Raja Salameh, together with his wife, Nada Boustani, 61, and three children, Emile, Raya, and Karim, acquired this property for a total of €3.6 million.
Raja Salameh told the police that he paid his share without taking a loan.
According to Raja Salameh, the children financed their share through loans from a Lebanese bank. These loans were subsequently repaid a few years later by “a family member”, Raja Salameh told the police, “maybe by myself or my spouse”.
Additionally, in 2011, Raja Salameh's children bought an apartment on Avenue Raymond Poincare in the 16th arrondissement for €1.2 million.
At that time, the youngest child was 18.
Raja Salameh said to the police that the children obtained a loan from a Lebanese bank, which was also repaid by him or his spouse.
In 2013, the children granted Raja Salameh and his spouse the “usufruct” rights to one quarter of the property. This means the legal right to use and derive benefits from it.
Following a division of assets, the real estate properties were allocated to their daughter, who was 26 years old at the time. As compensation to her two brothers, she paid €376,250.
Raja Salameh was questioned by French police in 2021. Photo: NNA
Raja Salameh told the police he does not know how his daughter repaid her brother in this matter.
Nada Boustani and Raya, Emile and Karim Salameh did not respond to The National's request for comment.
These apartments have been rented out since their purchase for approximately €4,000 per month – with the exception of a two-and-a-half-year period, because of unpaid rent.
Raja Salameh, while being questioned by French police in relation to a money laundering investigation concerning his family's investments, complained that he “had to file an eviction case in court to have her removed”.
“To this day, [the tenant] has not reimbursed me”, he added.
Raja Salameh told the police that he also owns two companies, the names of which he had “forgotten”, which own a dozen studios and apartments in London, all rented.
The National could not identify these properties.
His hearing with the police suggests that his role as the manager of Forry, which he said he established after serving as a representative for Republic National Bank of New York from 1985 to 2003, was his primary source of income.
Monaco judicial documents also show transfers between Raja Salameh and his son, Emile, from one of the Monaco accounts which received Forry funds.
Following the 2021 hearing, Raja Salameh was released without charges.
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
COPA DEL REY
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
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August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Avengers 3: Infinity War:an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
