Former Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salameh Released on Record $14 Million Bail

Lebanese authorities released former central bank governor Riad Salameh on Friday, September 26, after he posted a record bail of $14 million, ending a 13-month detention linked to corruption and financial misconduct charges.

Salameh, 74, once hailed as the architect of Lebanon’s financial stability, saw his reputation collapse alongside the country’s banking system in 2019. The sector’s implosion left millions of depositors unable to access their savings and triggered one of the worst economic crises in Lebanon’s history.

He was arrested in September 2024 and detained pending investigations into allegations of embezzlement of public funds and financial misconduct. The charges against him span both domestic and international jurisdictions, with European prosecutors also probing possible money laundering and illicit transfers abroad.

A judicial source told Reuters that Salameh’s release was finalized Friday evening after the completion of legal procedures and the payment of the unprecedented bail, which also included five billion Lebanese pounds (around $55,866). The source described it as the highest bail ever set in Lebanon’s legal history.

Despite his release, the former governor, currently hospitalized, remains under a one-year travel ban while judicial proceedings continue.

Salameh’s case has become emblematic of Lebanon’s broader economic and governance crises, reflecting both the collapse of public trust in state institutions and the deep challenges facing efforts to hold officials accountable in a country mired in financial turmoil.