NaijNaira
Lebanon’s central bank governor, Riad Salameh, was a no-show at a Paris hearing on Tuesday where French prosecutors were expected to press preliminary fraud and money laundering charges against him, according to Reuters.
Salameh, his brother Raja, and his assistant are being investigated in Lebanon and at least five European countries for allegedly embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from the central bank.
The National reported that Salameh failed to respond to a summons sent by the Lebanese judiciary for the hearing in France.
Beirut judge Charbel Abou Samra tried to contact Salameh three times to make him aware of the hearing, but the governor or a representative who could sign for him could not be found.
The Salameh brothers have denied any wrongdoing and their defense lawyers have submitted an objection to Lebanon’s judiciary over the French case, arguing that France should not be allowed to try a case already being investigated in Lebanon.
