Posters on the building of the central bank of Lebanon in Beirut, days after the governor Riad Salameh ended his 30 years in office on August 4, last year. Getty Images
Posters on the building of the central bank of Lebanon in Beirut, days after the governor Riad Salameh ended his 30 years in office on August 4, last year. Getty Images
Posters on the building of the central bank of Lebanon in Beirut, days after the governor Riad Salameh ended his 30 years in office on August 4, last year. Getty Images
The nephew of Riad Salameh, the former governor of the Banque du Liban (BDL), has been formally charged in Paris in a case involving ill-gotten gains, a source confirmed to The National.
Emile Salameh, 38, son of Raja Salameh, was formally charged on February 12 with criminal conspiracy, money laundering, and receiving stolen goods, following his interrogation before a financial investigating judge, AFP reported.
Through financial arrangements facilitated by his father, he is suspected of having acquired two apartments in Paris and villas in Lebanon.
He is also accused of managing, through a similar arrangement, two companies registered in Britain, which own several properties in London, AFP said.
The properties include two apartments bought on Avenue Victor Hugo for €3.6 million in 2013 and on Avenue Raymond Poincare for €1.2 million in 2011.
These apartments have been rented out since their purchase for about €4,000 per month.
“We are nearing the end of the legal journey, and it's not unlikely that further formal charges may arise,” said William Bourdon, one of the lawyers representing the Sherpa association and the Collective Association of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon as civil parties in the case.
Riad Salameh, with the help of his brother Raja Salameh, is suspected of setting up a money laundering scheme inside the central bank through a 0.38 per cent commission imposed by a shell company, Forry Associates Ltd on commercial banks for each transaction with the central bank.
The commission money is suspected to have been invested in real estate empires in Europe and the US.
Stéphane de Navacelle, Mr Emile Salameh's lawyer, did not comment on the case's details.
He told The National in an email that his client “has been interviewed in connection with an investigation opened for actions attributable to others and in which he was not involved”.
“Mr Salameh has endeavoured to assist to his full ability the investigators and will continue to do so without restraint. He is confident that the investigation will conclude to no wrongdoing on his part,” Mr de Navacelle said.
Three other people, at least, have been put under formal investigation in France regarding this case: Mr Salameh's former assistant at the BDL, Marianne Hoayek, his former romantic partner, Anna Kosakova, and former minister Marwan Kheireddine.
It was scheduled straight after the French judiciary issued an arrest warrant for his brother, Riad Salameh in May.
“In our view, Raja is a key player in the organised predation orchestrated by Riad and his clan. He presented a medical certificate to evade his hearing: his lifestyle raises doubts about his claimed inability to travel for health reasons,” Mr Bourdon told The National.
The Salameh brothers have previously denied any wrongdoing, with Mr Riad claiming his wealth was lawfully acquired through investments he made before he was appointed as the BDL Governor in 1993.
He said that he has made his money through his time as an investment banker, investments and other legal ways.
As the long-term head of the central bank, he has been one of the figures held responsible for the 2019 economic collapse in Lebanon that has been blamed on decades of mismanagement and corruption among the country's ruling elite – including its banking sector.
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
