Only days after Luxembourg announced it had begun a “criminal investigation” into his financial dealings, an audit commissioned by the president of Lebanon’s central bank has cleared him of any wrongdoing.
Riad Salameh, the governor of the Banque du Liban, claimed a business he requested to check his personal accounts had discovered no indication of wrongdoing. In an interview, Salamah stated that smears and rumors against him have been made up by the media.
In the same statement, Salamah expressed that he requested a well-known accounting company to evaluate activities and assets that had been the subject of persistent media speculation.
“Considering the recent media attention around my investments, I have requested that the audit office investigate them… These statistics clearly demonstrate that no public funds were utilized to pay Forry Associates’ fees and commissions,” he said.
Forry Associates, Salameh’s brother’s firm, prompted the central bank governor to seek an assessment. More than $300 million was earned by Raja Salameh’s firm between 2002 and 2014. Forry Associates and third parties have accused the governor of embezzlement, although he maintains that he was a middleman.
