Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh left the courthouse after attending a session before Judge Imad Qabalan dedicated to taking measures regarding the red notice issued through Interpol. Salameh answered questions from Judge Qabalan and refuted all allegations, asserting that the arrest warrant issued against him is invalid and illegal.
Salameh appeared relaxed during the session, providing a detailed explanation of the sources of his financial and real estate wealth, informing Judge Qabalan that his wealth existed before his appointment as Central Bank Governor in 1993, and that he accumulated it from his personal investments prior to taking the helm at the central bank, in addition to his monthly salary at “Merry Launch” which exceeds $150,000 per month.
Sources revealed that Salameh "requested Qabalan not to hand him over to France and to continue the investigations with him in Lebanon," discussing known political backgrounds that are behind the movement of files against him in Europe.
After a session lasting more than an hour, the Lebanese judiciary prevented Salameh from traveling and proceeded to seize his passports: the Lebanese and the French ones. Judge Qabalan also requested the French judiciary to provide the file on Salameh, which was the basis for the arrest warrant against him.
This morning, the German consul met with the Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, to inform him about the German arrest warrant issued against Salameh. Salameh's interrogation comes in the context of the red notice issued by Interpol at the request of the French judiciary.
