Lebanon Informed by Germany Of Arrest Warrant Against Central Bank Governor

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon has been verbally informed by Germany of an arrest warrant against Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh "on charges of corruption, forgery... and money laundry and embezzlement," a senior judicial source told Reuters on Tuesday.

No one at the German federal prosecution was immediately available to comment.

Last Friday, France's national financial prosecutor confirmed in a statement that it has issued an arrest warrant for Salameh.

"Lebanon received an Interpol notice issued for Salameh," the country's caretaker interior minister Bassam Mawlawi told Reuters on Friday, saying he would implement it if the judiciary instructed him to do so.

The notice was issued after France put out its own arrest warrant for Salameh as part of its investigation into whether the governor embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, an accusation he denies.

Mawlawi said the Interpol red notice had been issued on Wednesday and that Lebanon's justice ministry had received the notice the following morning.

"Whatever the judiciary says, we will do," Mawlawi said.

The minister added that he believed it was "necessary" for Salameh to resign. Lebanon's deputy prime minister called on the governor to step down on Thursday.

He said the issue was to be discussed at a consultative cabinet meeting on Monday but was already part of talks among the country's senior leaders.

"It's being seriously discussed," Mawlawi added.