Lebanese central bank head maintains innocence against corruption charges

[August 14, 2021]    BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh maintained his innocence amid allegations of corruption, saying in a radio interview on Saturday that his conscience was clear.

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh speaks during a news conference at Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Salameh is under investigation in Switzerland on charges related to embezzlement, and probes are under way or being planned in several other European countries.

Last week, a Lebanese prosecutor asked Salameh for documents relating to suspicions of embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion over an allegation that more than $300 million had been taken from the bank through a company owned by his brother.

"I have not benefitted one penny from the central bank," Salameh told Radio Free Lebanon.

Salameh continued to dismiss the allegations as a smear campaign on Saturday, saying "there are those who want my head".

Lebanon's crippled banking system is at the heart of a financial crisis that erupted in late 2019. Banks have since blocked transfers abroad and cut access to deposits due to a scarcity of dollars.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam and Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Christina Fincher)

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