The Attorney General in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Aoun, issued on Tuesday a memorandum requesting a travel ban against the Governor of the Central Bank Riad Salameh across all air, land, and sea crossing.
This travel ban came after the recent investigation and important data in the complaint filed by the lawyers of “People’s Group Want To Reform The System” for “crime and embezzlement and money laundering”.
This decision is the first to be taken by Lebanese authorities against the Governor of Central Bank. Meanwhile, other countries have been investigating him for financial “wrongdoings” in Lichtenstein, France, Luxemburg, and Switzerland.
This is not the first “battle” between Ghada Aoun and Riad Salameh. The Mount Lebanon Public Prosecutor had previously issued a warrant against him last year in the case of financial transfers and allegations ranging from fraud to misuse of public funds.
Ghada Aoun said on Tuesday that the next stage after the travel ban is to seek to question him.
Salameh has denied any knowledge of this travel ban order and the allegations in that case, calling it “part of the campaign to fool public opinion” against him.
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Prime Minister Nagib Mikati said in a news conference that the aim of any government action is “not defending individuals but preserving of institutions” and the rights of depositors to their savings in banks.
Mikati also denied any interference from his government with the judiciary’s investigations. That statement came in response to circulating news about him pressuring Judge Tannous who is seeking data from banks in his investigation of Salameh.
