Beirut: A Lebanese judge has confiscated the Lebanese and French passports of Lebanon’s Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh to ban him from travelling after Interpol issued a Red Notice against him over corruption charges.
Imad Kabalan, the attorney general at the Court of Cassation, questioned Salameh and issued the travel ban while releasing him under investigation, Lebanon’s Elnashra news website reported on Wednesday.
A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, according to the Interpol website.
The notice was issued last week at the request of the French judiciary which has urged Salameh to show up in Paris for questioning on corruption charges, Xinhua news agency reported.
Salameh and his associates are being investigated in Lebanon and multiple European countries on suspicion of embezzling more than $330 million from the Lebanese central bank, which Salameh denies.
He insisted that his wealth comes from his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, inherited properties, and investments.
Salameh is among the top Lebanese officials blamed for the unprecedented financial crisis in the country.
He has asked the Lebanese judiciary not to extradite him to the French tribunal and to put him on trial in Lebanon.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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