Lebanese judge hits new charges on former bank chief Riad Salameh

A Lebanese prosecutor has issued new charges against former Central Bank governor Riad Salameh and Bank Audi's former head, Samir Hanna, over alleged financial crimes. Judge Raja Hamouche indicted the pair for "establishing fictitious companies, seizing funds belonging to the Central Bank of Lebanon, using these funds to buy shares and bonds from commercial banks fraudulently, illicit enrichment, money laundering, and bribery."

Hamouche referred the case to Beirut's first investigating judge, Rola Othman, and issued arrest warrants for both. This marks the first time a commercial banker has been indicted in a Salameh-related financial crimes case, indicating that Lebanese investigations into the former governor are expanding to the private sector. Salameh, who spent three decades at the helm of the central bank, now faces additional charges in his long list of alleged offenses.

He is currently under detention at Dahr El Bechak government hospital, where his health has reportedly deteriorated, though the judiciary denies this. Salameh, once a powerful figure in Lebanese politics, was recently arrested for embezzlement, forgery, illicit enrichment, and money laundering. His arrest revealed a side of the man long regarded as the guardian of the country's financial sector.