Riad Salameh walks free after posting record bail
Lebanon's former central bank governor Riad Salameh walked free from a year in custody over embezzlement allegations Friday after posting more than $14 million in bail, a judicial official told AFP.
"Salameh left the Bhannes Hospital (in north Beirut) where he was being held and treated under guard," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Salameh, 75, who headed the central bank for three decades, has faced numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
He was arrested in September last year and indicted in April for allegedly embezzling $44 million from the central bank.
But last month, the judiciary agreed to release Salameh on bail of more than $20 million and with a one-year travel ban, and on Thursday reduced the bail figure upon the request of Salameh's legal team.
Salameh's lawyer "paid the bail of $14 million plus five billion Lebanese pounds" (around $55,000) -- the highest amount in Lebanese judicial history -- and the judge signed the documentation authorizing his release, a judicial official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The former central bank chief will be released "in the next few hours once legal procedures have been completed," the official added, noting the travel ban came into effect upon the bail payment.
In recent months, Salameh has been held under guard in hospital due to his deteriorating health.
He had been expected to be automatically released in early September when his detention order expired without trial, a judicial official had told AFP last month.
The judiciary had already issued orders for his release in two other cases in July.
Salameh is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon's economic crash, which the World Bank has called one of the worst in recent history, but he has defended his legacy, insisting he is being made a "scapegoat".
He left office at the end of July 2023 and has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, saying his wealth comes from private investment and his previous work at U.S. investment firm Merrill Lynch.
After Salameh posted the amount, investigators questioned him about the source of the funds and asked him for documents to prove that they were not the proceeds of illicit activities.
Salameh’s lawyer, Marc Habka, told journalists that his client was in poor health, and that “we have presented to the court all the evidence” to prove his innocence.
“It’s the right of the Lebanese people to know, in the end,” he said. “If Riad Salameh is involved (in the alleged crimes), he will be convicted. If other people are involved, they will be convicted, and if he is innocent, he will be acquitted.”
Source: Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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