US, UK, Canada Sanction Lebanon's Former Central Bank Governor

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Facts

  • On Thursday, the US, the UK, and Canada revealed that they would be placing sanctions on Riad Salameh, the former governor of Lebanon's central bank, following accusations of corruption.1
  • The US Treasury Department stated that Salameh had "abused his position of power... to enrich himself and his associates." Furthermore, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joy claimed that the sanctions were a message that "significant corruption" would not be "tolerated."2
  • Salameh is currently being investigated in Lebanon, France, Germany, and Luxembourg, among other states, after allegations of illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330M. Both Paris and Berlin issued Interpol notices regarding Salameh in May.3
  • Salameh stepped down as governor in July, with Lebanon's currency having lost 98% of its value and inflation sitting within triple figures. The former governor has claimed that the audited accounts of Lebanon's bank show no money had been transferred to either himself or his brother, who denies all the allegations.4
  • The former governor has also stated that he would challenge the sanctions, while also telling Reuters that personal assets had already been frozen in prior investigations.5
  • Salameh held his position as central bank governor for 30 years and has been partly blamed for igniting the economic crisis that’s plagued Lebanon since 2019.2

Sources: 1Reuters, 2Al Jazeera, 3Associated Press, 4BBC News, and 5The Guardian.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The New Arab. Riad Salameh is one of Lebanon’s most sinister actors and holds a massive amount of responsibility for Lebanon’s financial crisis. Touted as a “financial wizard” and steward of Lebanon’s economy, Salameh betrayed his duty by orchestrating a Ponzi scheme to enrich himself and his inner circle. The evidence against Salameh is overwhelming — there are too many shady deals and too much money missing for it to be a coincidence. Salameh is a corrupt criminal, and he must be held accountable.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by This is Beirut. Political adversaries in Lebanon and the West are targeting Riad Salameh, trying to sow discord in Lebanon’s financial markets and create rampant speculation that will yield easy profits. Salameh has complied with judiciaries in Lebanon and abroad and continues to maintain his innocence, and the French warrant against him violates the provisions of a previous Lebanese-French agreement.