Swiss Team to Visit Lebanon in Central Bank Chief Probe

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh attends a presentation of the IMF Economic Outlook for the Middle East at Lebanon's Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon October 25, 2010. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh attends a presentation of the IMF Economic Outlook for the Middle East at Lebanon's Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon October 25, 2010. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam/File Photo
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Swiss Team to Visit Lebanon in Central Bank Chief Probe

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh attends a presentation of the IMF Economic Outlook for the Middle East at Lebanon's Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon October 25, 2010. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh attends a presentation of the IMF Economic Outlook for the Middle East at Lebanon's Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon October 25, 2010. REUTERS/Cynthia Karam/File Photo

A Swiss delegation will visit Lebanon as part of investigations into Central Bank chief Riad Salameh, a judicial official said Thursday, as European legal pressure mounts on the top banker.

Switzerland was the first European country to open an investigation into Salameh, who is the subject of a series of judicial probes at home and abroad into the fortune he has amassed during some three decades in the job.

In January 2021, Lebanon said it had received a Swiss judicial assistance request as part of a probe into more than $300 million in fund movements by the central bank chief, as well as his assistant and his brother.

Lebanon "was informed by the Swiss authorities that a Swiss judicial delegation will visit Lebanon soon" over Salameh's case, the official told AFP on Thursday, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The delegation will meet a local judge and might seek to question individuals over the wealth of Salameh and his entourage as other European countries have done, the official added.

In March 2022, France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked to a probe into Salameh's wealth.

Judicial authorities in France and Munich in Germany last month issued arrest warrants for Salameh over accusations including money laundering and fraud, and Interpol subsequently issued Red Notices targeting him.

An Interpol Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but asks authorities worldwide to provisionally detain people pending possible extradition or other legal action.

European investigators this year have questioned Salameh in Beirut, also hearing from others including his assistant Marianne Hoayek, his brother Raja, a Lebanese minister and central bank audit firms.

Lebanon does not extradite its nationals, but Salameh could go on trial in Lebanon if local judicial authorities decide the accusations against him are founded, an official previously told AFP.

Following the Red Notices, a local judge questioned Salameh, confiscated his French and Lebanese passports, banned him from traveling and released him pending investigation.

In February this year, Lebanon charged Salameh as part of its own investigation, which it opened after the assistance request from Switzerland's public prosecutor.

Salameh, who denies all accusations against him, continues to serve as central bank governor. His mandate ends in July.

Activists say the travel ban helps shield him from being brought to justice abroad -- and from potentially bringing down others in the entrenched political class, which is widely blamed for endemic corruption in the crisis-hit country.



Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
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Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that Israel was “at the start of a new phase in the war” amid rising tension with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” Gallant told Israeli troops.

He made no mention of the explosions of electronic devices in Lebanon but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying they must put a stop to the cross-border exchanges to allow people to return to homes near the border.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In his comments, Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top security officials at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the country's army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah.

Israel will ensure that tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern border areas will be able to go back home, Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

"I have said it before, we will return the citizens of the north to their homes in security and that's exactly what we are going to do," he said in a brief video statement, giving no further details.

Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter said the army had moved its 98th Division, which includes commando and paratrooper formations, from Gaza to the north.