“The financial criminal audit of the Lebanese central bank, the Banque du Liban, should obtain practical outcomes while keeping clear of personal interests,” said Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
Lebanon’s citizens have the right to know where their savings have gone,” Aoun said in a speech to the newly constituted National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Any party claiming otherwise has unquestionably benefited from the state’s and its institutions’ bad management practices, especially the central bank. I’m being targeted by these parties, and they’re doing everything they can to mislead people.”
The president’s political supporter, Judge Ghada Aoun, is adamant that central bank governor Riad Salameh be prosecuted.
Maj. Gen. Imad Osman, chief of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), was indicted on Wednesday for obstructing State Security officers from visiting Salameh’s residence on Tuesday.
Salameh was summoned by Judge Aoun after he failed to appear three times as a witness in a criminal case brought by the group The People Want to Reform the System over allegations of “unjust enrichment, money laundering, and wasting public funds.” The State Security officers were acting on the summons.
According to the General Directorate of the ISF, “The members in front of Salameh’s residence have been stationed there for some time to protect him from any security threat and they are not authorized to intervene, report, or impede the implementation of any official memo.
They reinforced this during a phone discussion between Osman and Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba as part of their ongoing coordination.”
