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Beirut – Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Friday he would file a series of legal cases in and outside Lebanon against Bloomberg after he released a report saying the United States was considering imposing sanctions.
On Friday, Washington denied a report that it was considering imposing sanctions on Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, whose role in the country’s financial turmoil has come under scrutiny.
“We have seen reports of possible sanctions against Riad Salameh. These reports are incorrect,” said a State Department spokesman.
A Bloomberg report said Thursday that the United States was considering imposing sanctions on Salameh, amid a broader investigation into allegations of embezzlement of public funds.
Salameh, who previously worked at Merrill Lynch Bank, has run the central bank since 1993. But the collapse of the financial system has shaken his reputation as a pillar of stability in the country.
Swiss investigators are investigating allegations of money laundering and embezzlement linked to the Central Bank of Lebanon, although they have not mentioned whether Salameh is a suspect.
A Lebanese government official said in January that Swiss authorities were investigating millions of dollars in transfers made by Salama, his brother and his aide. Salameh has denied wrongdoing and defended his policies.
The governor of Banque du Liban became a target of ire during protests against the ruling elite in Lebanon with the outbreak of the crisis in late 2019. Since then, banks have prevented depositors from withdrawing their savings as they the currency collapses, effectively pushing many into poverty.
At the same time, foreign donors are demanding an audit of the Central Bank’s work as one of the basic reforms before delivering any aid to Lebanon.
Salameh faces strong pressure in the context of the crisis of the collapse of the Lebanese pound to an unprecedented record level, and protesters and government officials hold him responsible for the financial crisis.
In protests in October 2019 that prompted the Saad Hariri government to resign, protesters raised slogans accusing Salameh of embezzlement.
Lebanon is facing the world’s most indebted country, an economic and political crisis that is the worst exacerbated by the Corona virus outbreak and the most violent explosion to hit the port of Beirut on August 4.
Saad Hariri, leader of the Future Movement, who was assigned by Lebanese President Michel Aoun about 4 months ago to form the government, was unable to fulfill his mission after he promised to announce a government of powers to accelerate the completion of reforms and to Accelerate the release of billions of dollars that donors require for their release from a government of specialists to fight corruption and implement the required corrective programs.
