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Four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) is investigating a report by a London-based law firm that accuses the Governor of Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, and his associates of money laundering and corrupt practices.
The 76-page report, seen by Reuters, reveals what it says are hundreds of millions of pounds worth of British investment assets, companies and tools in Britain, and claims that Salama, members of his family and people associated with him have used years to transfer money out of Lebanon.
Salameh has been governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon since 1993. He told Reuters that he had read a copy of the report and described it as part of a smear campaign and described the allegations in it as false.
Two of the sources said that the legal institution (Guernica 37) that
Based in London, he submitted the report to British police late last year.
They added that the report was later transmitted to Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA). The report was prepared on behalf of a group of Lebanese civil society figures abroad.
An NCA spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have received this report, but we are not in a position to provide further comment.”
He did not say whether the agency had opened an investigation into the report.
Two sources indicated that the NCA’s Financial Investigation Unit is conducting what is known as scoping, which is a form of preliminary investigation to see if there are sufficient grounds to initiate a formal investigation.
The Guernica 37 report is one of several ongoing or planned investigations in Europe against officials of the Lebanese financial sector and the Lebanese political class.
The Swiss Attorney General’s office said in January that it had requested legal assistance from the Lebanese authorities in connection with an investigation into “widespread money laundering” and possible fraud related to the Central Bank of Lebanon.
In response to questions from Reuters, the Swiss Attorney General’s office declined to reveal whether Salameh was a suspect and also declined to comment further. Salameh denied any wrongdoing.
Toby Caldman, co-founder of Guernica 37, said in a statement to Reuters that his foundation’s report is one of several legal cases it has prepared regarding Lebanon to present to British authorities.
“Our intention is to address, investigate and expose all the main pillars of alleged corruption in the country,” he added.
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