Germany cancels arrest warrant for Riad Salameh, but charges remain

The German judiciary has been investigating Lebanon’s former central bank chief over charges including forgery and money laundering since 2021

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Germany has cancelled its arrest warrant for Lebanon’s former central bank governor, Riad Salameh, his lawyer has told media.

Yet legal experts say the original charges against Mr Salameh remain unchanged.

Details of the decision issued on June 10, based on an appeal by Mr Salameh, have yet to be released, lawyer Pierre-Olivier Sur added.

Since 2021, the German judiciary has been conducting money laundering investigations into Lebanon’s central bank chief from 1993 to 2023, on charges including forgery, money laundering and embezzlement.

In May 2023, Germany’s public prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for Mr Salameh, resulting in an Interpol red notice. This came a week after France issued an arrest warrant for him when he failed to attend a hearing in Paris.

Lebanon does not extradite its citizens.

Mr Salameh is being investigated in Lebanon and at least five European countries for having siphoned off more than $330 million from the Banque Du Liban (BDL) with the help of his brother Raja.

In July last year, media revealed the full extent of the prosecution case against Mr Salameh. Previously unseen documents, obtained by media from two independent sources, detailed the alleged laundering scheme and money flow into Europe and the US, companies allegedly created to execute the plan and the accomplices he is said to have used. The documents also revealed the extent of a vast property empire he now controls.

The brothers denied any wrongdoing.

German and other European prosecutors have visited Beirut several times to quiz the Salameh brothers, alleged accomplices and witnesses.

Legal experts have suggested that the decision to cancel the arrest warrant is motivated by procedural reasons unrelated to the charges themselves.

This means that Mr Salameh remains under investigation in Germany for the same charges.

One assumption is that Mr Salameh used the travel ban issued by Lebanon as a legitimate reason for not appearing at his hearing abroad, thereby showing that he is not actively evading judicial proceedings.

“If a person is banned from travelling, they are excused for not appearing before a foreign judge, which allows the Court of Appeal to cancel any in absentia arrest warrant issued against them,” wrote Jean Tannous on Tuesday. Mr Tannous is the Lebanese judge who first led the investigation into Mr Salameh.

“The cancellation has no effect on the charges,” he added

In May 2023, Charbel Abou Samra, Beirut’s first investigating judge, who was later entrusted with the Salameh file in Lebanon, confiscated Mr Salameh’s passports and banned him from leaving the country, a move that, according to Lebanese lawyer Karim Daher, de facto “protected” the former governor.

“This was probably the argument used for the annulment,” said Mr Daher.