Lebanon: Security Raid Central Bank Governor "Riad Salameh" Home

The Lebanese News Agency reported that a state security patrol raided the home of Banque du Liban Governor Riad Salameh in Rabieh.

The agency stated that the patrol carried out the operation with a signal from the Public Prosecutor in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Aoun, in implementation of the subpoena issued against him.

Salameh said in a television interview on Tuesday evening that "when the crisis occurred in 2019, the dollar price did not rise much, and the Lebanese were able to withdraw their dollars from banks, until the Lebanese government decided to stop paying bonds, and here inflation began, and the dollar began to rise."

Commenting on the theory of a conspiracy against the Banque du Liban, he said: "I do not know whether there was a conspiracy, but since 2015, we have been witnessing the creation of despair and planting it in the hearts of the Lebanese, and preparations for changing the regime."

He added, "Unfortunately, they were able to create chaos, and they thought that they could create another better system, but the result was the collapse of the economy and the emigration of the Lebanese, and they blamed me."

He continued, "We will work in a way to mitigate the losses on the Lebanese."

The coming days will be difficult, he said: "When the crisis began in Ukraine, “all the monetary and economic data in the world changed, as the interest rates in the large central banks rose, and the prices of fuels and foodstuffs rose globally."

"All currencies weakened compared to the dollar, which directly affected Lebanon, and the secret of the continuation of the Banque du Liban is that we did not implement any reckless policy, nor did we manage the central bank in a bad and wrong way, as some claim, but we were able to secure financing for the country.”

Meantime, Salameh said Tuesday the bank's foreign currency reserves had dropped by $2.2 billion so far in 2022 to about $11 billion, about a third of of 2019 levels.