Thursday, the United States of America imposed sanctions targeting the recently outgoing Governor of the Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, and others close to him.
According to the US Treasury website, the sanctions included Riad Salameh's assistant, Marian Hoayek, Ukrainian Anna Koskova (his girlfriend), Raja Salameh (his brother), and Riad Salameh Club (his son).
Salama’s mandate at the head of the Central Bank ended in late July, and his deputy, Wassim al-Mansouri, assumed this position, in a country that has witnessed a state of economic and financial collapse since the crisis that hit it in 2019, and led to the collapse of the exchange rate of its national currency, the lira.
A European investigation into the alleged involvement of the Governor of the Banque du Liban in money laundering worth $330 million
Salameh has been charged with corruption in France, Germany, Switzerland and Lebanon, while he denies any wrongdoing.
Lebanon owed about $100 billion at the end of 2022 - including Eurobonds - and is run by politicians who have failed to agree among themselves, even on the contours of a recovery plan. The country signed a preliminary agreement on a $3 billion bailout with the International Monetary Fund last year, but it must implement reforms as part of the deal, which has yet to happen.
The International Monetary Fund requested an audit of the accounts of the central bank and commercial banks to assess undeclared losses and start restructuring the financial sector, unifying the currency exchange rate, and adopting a law to monitor and control capital (Capital Control), and these items, in most of them, need the approval of the Lebanese Parliament on it.
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