Reported by Maya Gebeily

Once celebrated as a financial wizard, Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh is spending his final weeks in office a wanted man, faced with French and German arrest warrants that have been prompted by long-running corruption probes.

The warrants are the latest twist in cross-border investigations into whether Salameh, the governor for three decades whose term ends in July, abused his post to embezzle a fortune in Lebanese public money. He denies any wrongdoing.

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The cases have further shredded a legacy already in tatters after the collapse of Lebanon’s financial system in 2019, a catastrophe many blame on Salameh and Lebanon’s ruling elite.

It has shone a spotlight on 72-year-old Salameh’s ties to ruling politicians, whose backing for him has only started to fray in recent months as European investigations progressed.

Interpol has issued a Red Notice and uploaded his picture on its website. France has declared him a wanted man.

Some Lebanese ministers and leading politicians now say he must quit, although others have remained silent, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Salameh, who has long described the accusations as an attempt to scapegoat him for Lebanon’s meltdown, has shown no sign of stepping down early.

Read full report: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/lebanons-central-bank-governor-set-end-his-tenure-wanted-man-2023-05-26/