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Paris Court to Debate French Seizures of Salameh Assets

Riad Salameh. (AP)
Riad Salameh. (AP)
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Paris Court to Debate French Seizures of Salameh Assets

Riad Salameh. (AP)
Riad Salameh. (AP)

AThe Paris Court of Appeal will debate on Tuesday the validity of a large number of seizures made on the real estate and banking assets in Europe of the governor of Lebanon's central bank, Riad Salameh, who is suspected of having acquired them through massive misappropriation of Lebanese public funds.

Interviewed in Beirut in mid-March by several European judges investigating him, including French investigating judge Aude Buresi, Riad Salameh, 72, maintained his innocence, as he has done since the opening of the case, AFP reported.

Salameh repeatedly denies the charges against him, considering that they are part of a political and media campaign to “distort” his image.

He confirms that he made his wealth from his work for two decades at Merrill Lynch and from investments in several fields.

At the end of March 2022, France, Germany, and Luxembourg announced the freezing of 120 million euros of Lebanese assets linked to Salameh and four other people including his brother Raja Salameh for charges of money laundry and embezzlement of more than $330 million and 5 million euro of public funds between 2002 and 2021.

The Parisian investigating chamber will debate on Tuesday the requests made by the Salameh camp for the restitution of more than a dozen different seizures made by France, including apartments in the 16th arrondissement of Paris and on the Champs-Elysées, in addition to the UK, and Belgium, as well as banking accounts and others.

The decision on these assets, the value of which is in the tens of millions of euros, should be known within a few weeks.

The Public Prosecutor's Office has asked for confirmation of the seizures, expressing concern that, in the event of a possible judicial conviction, France would be deprived of "any prospect of confiscation" of the assets.

The stakes are high, says a source close to the case: "To hit [Riad Salameh] in the wallet is the main concrete action possible in this case," since Lebanon refuses to extradite its nationals and tries them on its soil if they are convicted abroad.

William Bourdon, lawyer for two civil parties, the NGO Sherpa and the Collectif des victimes des pratiques frauduleuses et criminelles au Liban (CPVCL), also asks for confirmation of these seizures, "based on very powerful evidence."

"The requests for release are as much a rearguard battle as a communication operation," Bourdon added.

The French judicial inquiry, the existence of which was revealed by AFP, has been running since July 2021, in parallel with other European and Lebanese investigations.

According to investigation documents of which AFP has been informed, the embezzlement scheme in question is based mainly on a company registered in the Virgin Islands, created in 2001 by the Mossack Fonseca firm, implicated in the Panama Papers.

The investigations focus on the link between Forry Associates Ltd and Banque du Liban.

Forry Associates Ltd, whose economic beneficiary is allegedly Raja Salameh, the governor's brother, was authorized by Banque du Liban, to trade Lebanese treasury bills and Eurobonds for a commission.

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Arab World

Houthi Attacks Threaten Thousands of African Refugees in Western Lahj

Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)
Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)
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Houthi Attacks Threaten Thousands of African Refugees in Western Lahj

Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)
Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)

Escalating Houthi military operations in southwestern Yemen are putting thousands of refugees from the Horn of Africa at growing risk, with missile strikes near a refugee camp disrupting essential services, restricting movement and forcing families already displaced by conflict to seek safety elsewhere.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis affecting more than 65,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Yemen, where mounting insecurity, economic collapse, dwindling resources and restrictions on aid access have left tens of thousands without safe shelter or basic necessities.

Despite the worsening conflict, thousands continue to risk their lives on perilous sea crossings from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, the agency said.

At the center of the latest concerns is Kharaz refugee camp in Lahj province, home to about 9,500 refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia and located just tens of kilometers from areas of fighting.

While no refugee casualties have been reported or confirmed, missile strikes in surrounding areas have forced some services to shut down and restricted residents' movement, deepening fear among families who had already fled violence and conflict in their home countries.

UNHCR partners, working with local authorities, have managed to deliver food aid to the camp, while healthcare and water supplies continue despite serious difficulties.

Other essential services have nearly ground to a halt. Schools have suspended classes, while legal assistance and documentation services have stopped. Soaring fuel and basic commodity prices have added to the strain, leaving refugee families struggling to meet their daily needs.

Refugees flee again

With insecurity mounting and humanitarian access increasingly restricted, refugee families have begun leaving Kharaz and other parts of western Yemen for safer areas in the south, including Aden.

But even the journey to safety carries risks. Families are forced to travel along routes used by warring parties, exposing them to further insecurity.

The deteriorating situation has also driven a rise in requests for voluntary repatriation, as growing numbers of refugees seek help returning to their home countries.

Since the Houthi offensive intensified in August, UNHCR has organized three flights from Aden to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, returning 607 Somali refugees to their homeland. More than 1,100 others have expressed a desire to return.

Yet those efforts are also under threat. UNHCR warned that continued strikes targeting airports and intensifying clashes were endangering refugees and aid workers and jeopardizing voluntary repatriation operations.

More than 134,000 arrivals

Even as years of conflict have left Yemen grappling with one of the world's most protracted humanitarian emergencies, migrants and asylum seekers continue to arrive on its shores.

More than 134,000 migrants and asylum seekers crossed by sea from the Horn of Africa in the first nine months of the year, fleeing conflict, persecution, instability and poverty, according to UNHCR.

Many hope to pass through Yemen on their way to other countries. Instead, they find themselves in a nation where deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions have made daily life increasingly precarious.

The flow is also moving in the opposite direction. Since September, about 4,200 people have left Yemen by sea for Djibouti and Somalia, with humanitarian organizations expecting departures to rise as maritime conditions improve.

The movements come as more than 300,000 Yemenis remain displaced following upheaval in recent months, adding to pressure on scarce resources and overstretched humanitarian services.

For residents, refugees and migrants alike, the overlapping crises are deepening hardship in a country already battered by years of conflict.

UNHCR warned that without urgent international action, adequate funding and unhindered humanitarian access, thousands more could be forced to flee, facing further deprivation and suffering.

Arab World

Guterres Condemns Escalation of Drone Attacks in Sudan

Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS
Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS
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Guterres Condemns Escalation of Drone Attacks in Sudan

Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS
Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemns the escalating drone attacks in Sudan by the parties to the conflict and the catastrophic toll these attacks are inflicting on civilians, according to a statement by his spokesperson.

Across the country, as well as in Abyei, drones have killed hundreds of civilians, including women and children, which constitute violations of international humanitarian law, a statement by Stephane Dujarric said on Saturday.

“The Secretary-General is appalled by all the attacks directed against civilians and critical infrastructure, including health facilities,” it noted.

Guterres called on the parties to spare the civilian population and critical infrastructure and agree without delay to a cessation of hostilities as a first step towards ending this devastating conflict.

He renewed his urgent appeal to the parties to engage in good faith with mediation efforts.

Dujarric’s statement noted that the United Nations stands ready to support any efforts to advance a sustainable political resolution that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Now in its fourth year, Sudan's conflict has already killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and triggered what the UN describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Arab World

UN Demands Probe into Death of Its Employee in Houthi Custody

Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
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UN Demands Probe into Death of Its Employee in Houthi Custody

Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)

The United Nations on Saturday condemned the "heartbreaking" death of one of its employees in Yemen under custody of the Houthis and demanded an inquiry.

Mohammad al-Shami, a staff member of the UN Human Rights Office in Yemen, had been "arbitrarily held" by the Houthis since June 2024, the organization said in a statement.

It cited his family as saying he had died more than a month ago but that his relatives had only been recently informed.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in the statement that no explanation had been given for the "heartbreaking loss".

The statement said Turk "demanded full transparency from the Houthis and an urgent, independent and thorough investigation into his death".

It quoted Turk as saying he was also "gravely concerned for the safety and well-being of the other UN personnel who remain detained", demanding their release.

The Houthis "are gravely undermining our ability to support the people of Yemen during a most serious humanitarian and human rights crisis," he said.

"I urge them to change course."

On October 14, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York that 71 UN personnel were being held by the Houthis.