Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

French prosecutors name bank chairman a suspect in Lebanese central bank probe

French prosecutors name bank chairman a suspect in Lebanese central bank probe

French prosecutors said they have put a Lebanese banker under formal investigation, the latest move in a cross-border probe looking into whether Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh, embezzled vast sums of public funds.
The Lebanese banker, Marwan Kheireddine, who is the chairman of Lebanon's AM Bank, is suspected of participation in a criminal association and aggravated money laundering, a spokesperson at the Paris office of the National Financial Prosecutors said on Friday.

Kheireddine, who was in France on March 24 when prosecutors notified him of the preliminary charges, was not kept in custody, the spokesperson said, but he was told not to leave the country and his passport was confiscated.

Kheireddine did not respond to phone calls and text messages. A lawyer who, Reuters was told represents him, said he could not confirm being Kheireddine's counsel.

Salameh, who has been at the helm of the central bank for three decades, is being investigated in Lebanon, in France and in at least four other European countries over accusations of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars and laundering some of the proceeds abroad.

Salameh has denied the accusations, saying he is being made a scapegoat for Lebanon's financial crisis that erupted in 2019.

According to people familiar with the French and Lebanese probes, Kheireddine is suspected of having allowed Salameh to process irregular fund transfers through AM Bank.

A lawyer for Salameh, Pierre-Olivier Sur, declined to comment on the allegations Kheireddine colluded with the governor. The Lebanese bank did not respond to a message seeking comment.

In January, Kheireddine was questioned by visiting European prosecutors in Beirut, who asked him about accounts at AM Bank containing large sums of money belonging to Salameh, according to people familiar with the interrogation.

Bank statements seen by Reuters show how the Salameh accounts at AM Bank ballooned from $15 million in 1993 to more than $150 million by 2019.

Lebanese prosecutors suspect the accounts, from which regular cash withdrawals were made, were used to conceal money laundering activity, a Lebanese judicial source said on Saturday.

Through lawyers, Salameh has denied using his AM Bank accounts to launder money, saying interests he capitalized on deposits explain why his savings rose.

Kheireddine served as a Lebanese minister of state between 2011 and 2013 and ran unsuccessfully for parliament in 2022 on a list backed by the powerful Iran-backed political party and armed group Hezbollah.

French prosecutors, who have not formally named Salameh a suspect, have summoned him for a hearing in Paris on May 16, according to Salameh's lawyer, Sur.

Sur said late on Friday it was not clear whether his client would be able to come to the hearing because his travels are restricted as part of Lebanese investigations.

Sur told Reuters he may challenge the hearing itself on procedural grounds.

According to the lawyer, French prosecutors have summoned his client with a view of naming him a formal suspect. Yet, in March, they came to Beirut, and questioned him as a "simple witness," he said.

If French prosecutors suspected Salameh of wrongdoing, they could not hear him as a witness, Sur said. The fact they did creates an "insurmountable gap" the lawyer said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
×