It is rare for international arrest warrants to be issued against the heads of central banks, especially when they are still in office, but the governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, now has one to his name.
It came after he failed to appear before French judge Aud Bourizi, who is looking into his accumulation of substantial wealth in several European countries.
He is being probed for money laundering, illegal enrichment, and the mysterious sources of his family's substantial wealth.
Investigations have found documents revealing that Salameh followed the path of many Third World politicians by transferring wealth to Western banks and tax havens in the Caribbean and elsewhere.
With its newfound international element, Salameh’s case stands out. Internal legal actions have been taken against financial officials within their home countries before, even before they have left the jobs, but Salameh is now a wanted man abroad in what has become a high-profile case.
Key and influential figure
France’s warrant cuts through to the inner sanctum of the highly influential circle at the top of Lebanese public life. It names a man who is one of the pillars of the Lebanese system since the end of the civil war there.
Salameh is key figure at the heart of the current ruling elite, with close involvement in a significant proportion of the misrule of the country, including the way banks seized depositors’ funds.
Read more: How a central bank’s failings led to Lebanon’s financial collapse
He also has a lot of sway over the media. After the economic collapse in the country wiped out advertising revenues, Lebanese media became dependent on alternative revenue streams.
