Riad Salameh
Riad Salameh | |
|---|---|
| Born | Riad Toufic Salameh July 17, 1950 Antelias, Lebanon |
| Occupation(s) | Economist, central banker |
| Years active | 1973–2023 |
| Known for | Governor of Banque du Liban (1993–2023) |
Riad Toufic Salameh (; born 17 July 1950) is a Lebanese economist who held the position of governor at Lebanon's central bank, the Banque du Liban, from August 1993 until July 2023. His appointment was made by official decree and ratified by the Council of Ministers, with each term lasting six years and renewable. He was reappointed on four occasions—in 1999, 2005, 2011, and 2017. Salameh’s tenure concluded on 31 July 2023; due to the Lebanese parliament’s inability to designate a successor, his first deputy, Wassim Manssouri, took over as acting governor.
Salameh is recognized for preserving the Lebanese pound’s stability up until 2019. Nevertheless, he has been accused of corruption, money laundering, and orchestrating what is considered the largest Ponzi scheme ever recorded, leading to his reputation as "the world’s worst central banker." Currently, he faces sanctions imposed by Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Early life
Born in Antelias in 1950 into a Christian Maronite family with established commercial ties and origins in Liberia, Riad Salameh grew up in a business-oriented environment. His father, Toufic Salameh, was the proprietor of the Cedars Hotel located in Broummana, while his mother Raniah—who was involved with the Lebanese Red Cross and engaged in philanthropic work—was tragically killed in 1982. He has three siblings.
Raised at his grandfather’s residence in Antelias, Salameh attended the Jesuit-run Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour before earning a bachelor's degree in economics from the American University of Beirut.
Merrill Lynch
Between 1973 and 1993, Salameh held executive management roles at Merrill Lynch offices in Beirut and Paris. He advanced to vice-president and financial advisor during this period. It was then that he developed a professional relationship with businessman Rafic Hariri, a significant investor for whom Salameh managed portfolios.
Lebanon's central bank
Following the conclusion of the Lebanese Civil War, Hariri became prime minister and appointed Salameh as governor of Lebanon’s central bank. He assumed office on 1 August 1993 and secured reappointment for four successive terms in 1999, 2005, 2011, and 2017. In addition to leading Banque du Liban, Salameh presides over several key institutions: the BDL Central Council, the Higher Banking Commission, the AML/CFT Special Investigation Commission, and the Capital Markets Authority.
He also holds positions on the boards of governors for both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF). Notably, he chaired the IMF and World Bank annual meetings held in Tokyo in 2012. On 1 July 2013, Salameh commenced a two-year term co-chairing the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Advisory Group for Middle East and North Africa and served as chairman of the AMF board of governors during that year.
Endeavors
Edward Gardner from the International Monetary Fund commended Salameh’s approach, remarking that Lebanese regulators prudently avoided engaging in hazardous international investments that negatively impacted many other banking systems.
In an interview with Executive magazine in 2009, Salameh expressed confidence that Lebanon would remain insulated from the repercussions of the 2008 global financial crisis due to proactive measures taken beforehand. He underscored robust trust in Lebanon’s banking system and monetary framework, demonstrated by substantial conversions from US dollars to Lebanese pounds. In 2008 alone, Banque du Liban acquired over $8 billion from financial markets, which lowered dollarization levels in deposits from approximately 77% to near 69%. The policy emphasized restricting banking sector leverage and prohibiting acquisition of toxic assets such as sub-prime loans. As a result, Lebanese banks achieved record profits exceeding $1 billion—their most successful year to date. Salameh highlighted that liquidity levels were sufficient to avert any crisis throughout 2009.
In 2016, he launched a “financial engineering” initiative collaborating with domestic banks involving swaps between government debt instruments and currency deposits. This strategy helped bolster foreign reserves while supporting Lebanon’s currency peg to the US dollar.
During the course of the 2019–2020 Lebanese protests, tensions arose between Salameh and Prime Minister Hassan Diab regarding decisions about government default; Salameh advocated for utilizing foreign reserves to cover interest payments owed to international creditors.
Additional Roles
Up until 2023, Salameh held the position of chairman for several key institutions including Banque du Liban’s Central Council, the Higher Banking Commission, the AML/CFT Special Investigation Commission, and the Capital Markets Authority. He was also a member of the board of governors at both the International Monetary Fund and the Arab Monetary Fund.
Allegations of a Ponzi Scheme
In the wake of the 2019–20 Lebanese protests, deposits at the Banque du Liban dropped by $31 billion within a single year, while lenders’ loan portfolios shrank by $18 billion, precipitating Lebanon’s first significant financial crisis in thirty years. Riad Salameh, the Central Bank governor often dubbed a financial "magician," has been implicated by various media outlets such as An-Nahar and Bloomberg in connection with this crisis. These sources claim that Salameh ran a 30-year Ponzi scheme that played a role in the State’s bankruptcy and currency devaluation. French President Emmanuel Macron also voiced concerns, urging for enhanced transparency within Lebanon’s financial framework.
Salameh has rejected these accusations, highlighting that Lebanon’s interest rates were comparatively lower than those in Egypt and Turkey and contending that he is being unjustly blamed.
Additional Accusations
In July 2020, a group of Lebanese lawyers accused Salameh of misappropriating central bank resources and mishandling public finances. Subsequently, on 20 July, Judge Faisal Makki imposed a protective freeze on some of Salameh's assets citing damage to the nation’s fiscal integrity.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) disclosed in August 2020 that offshore entities linked to Salameh owned nearly $100 million worth of real estate abroad, primarily located in the UK, Germany, and Belgium.
Towards the end of 2020, Salameh initiated an ethical review aimed at auditing Lebanon’s financial system to determine whether political figures circumvented banking regulations concerning foreign currency withdrawals and overseas fund transfers.
In 2021, investigations into money laundering involving Salameh were launched by authorities in France and Switzerland. By August 2023, the United States imposed sanctions on him, adding him to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, thereby freezing his assets and prohibiting U.S. persons from conducting business with him.
In September 2024, Salameh was detained amid several corruption investigations and charged with embezzling $42 million in public funds. The following month, additional charges related to illicit enrichment were filed concerning his rental of a Paris apartment intended as an alternative Central Bank office.
Legal Proceedings
In February 2022, Judge Ghada Aoun issued a subpoena after Riad Salameh failed to appear for hearings tied to allegations of corruption and misconduct following searches conducted at his residences and office. Controversy ensued amid claims that another security agency obstructed his trial appearance. On 21 March, both Salameh and his brother Raja faced charges of illicit enrichment, yet they again did not attend questioning. Raja was detained for one month before being released on 22 May after posting a historic bail amounting to 100 billion LBP. Authorities suspect both brothers orchestrated a money laundering operation within the central bank involving a 0.38% commission funneled through a shell company. In June 2022, security forces conducted another raid at Salameh’s residence.
By February 2023, after an 18-month investigation into allegations that he and his brother embezzled $300 million from the Banque du Liban between 2002 and 2015, Salameh faced formal charges including money laundering, embezzlement, and illicit enrichment.
By May 2023, Lebanon had received an Interpol red notice issued by France accusing Salameh of "money laundering, fraud and participation in a criminal association," following his absence from court proceedings in Paris. Germany also issued a second Interpol red notice related to corruption offenses such as forgery, money laundering, and embezzlement. Salameh remains subject to multiple criminal probes across Lebanon and Europe.
In August 2024, Raja Salameh was indicted by Parisian courts on charges encompassing embezzlement of public funds, aggravated breach of trust, corruption, and money laundering.
Riad Salameh was taken into custody on September 3, 2024 after judicial interrogation concerning serious accusations involving embezzlement, money laundering, and fraudulent financial commissions. This marked his initial court appearance since resigning in July 2023. He was transferred to a higher-security detention facility pending further questioning while facing ongoing legal proceedings initiated by French authorities issuing international arrest warrants.
In April 2025, Judge Bilal Halawi issued a "presumptive decision" determining that Salameh engaged in illicit enrichment through transferring central bank funds into private accounts, paving the way for formal indictment procedures.
Personal life and family
Salameh is wed to Nada Karam, a Lebanese entrepreneur who has undergone scrutiny related to allegations of money laundering and unlawful financial gain. Together, they are parents to four children. Additionally, his nephew, Emile Salameh, stands accused by French officials of involvement in criminal conspiracy, money laundering, and possession of stolen property.