The site Al-Siyasa reported that MP General Jamil Sayyed is behind the attack on the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh.
Sources close to the Governor denied to Al-Siyasa claims published today by the newspaper "Al-Akhbar" regarding financial transfers abroad made by Riad Salameh in his name, his brother's or his assistant's name. According to the sources, it is legally and constitutionally impossible for the central governor to make any financial transfers from the Central Bank to abroad, especially since any transfers occur through private commercial banks and all operations of the Central Bank are fully monitored by the Central Council of the bank and the government commissioner at the Central Bank.
The sources accused General Jamil Sayyed of being behind these allegations, pointing out that there are numerous financial suspicions surrounding him related to involvement with dubious names in the world of black market currency in Lebanon to pressure the lira and to carry out transfers of millions of dollars abroad.
The sources added that General Jamil Sayyed pressured Prime Minister Hassan Diab last March to prevent Lebanon from servicing eurobond maturities, aiming to financially collapse Lebanon and devastate the banking sector and the Central Bank entirely while attempting to establish an alternative "resistant" banking system.
Furthermore, the sources claimed that there is an obvious game being played by the newspaper "Al-Akhbar," which has embroiled the Minister of Justice, indicating that the "engineer" behind the leak and the "entrapment" with the Reuters news agency, as described by the sources, is the same person—MP General Jamil Sayyed.
In response to the accusations of making financial transfers abroad, Riad Salameh issued a statement affirming his commitment to the applicable Lebanese and international laws, and his cooperation with all those concerned about Lebanon's financial and banking situation both domestically and internationally.
Salameh added in his statement that all allegations regarding fictitious financial transfers made abroad in his name, his brother's name, or his assistant's name are fabricated and false news without any basis, noting that these claims will be subject to legal action against all who published or will publish them with intent to continue the defamation, and thus clarification was warranted.
