French Judiciary Accuses Former Assistant to Lebanese Central Bank Governor of Financial Corruption

The French judiciary has accused Marianne Howayek, former assistant to the Governor of Lebanon's Central Bank, of financial corruption, according to a legal source quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The charges were formally levied by a French judge in Paris last Friday, following a hearing that is part of the ongoing investigations into the wealth of Riad Salameh in Europe.

Several European countries, including France, are investigating Salameh's fortune. Investigators suspect that the former Lebanese Central Bank governor accumulated property and banking assets through a complex financial scheme. There are further allegations of widespread misuse of Lebanese public funds during his more than three decades in office.

The French judiciary suspects that Howayek played a significant role in this supposed criminal scheme.

The same legal source revealed to AFP that the investigative judge accused Howayek of forming a criminal gang and money laundering within an organized gang context.

Howayek has been placed under judicial supervision by the investigative judge and prohibited from communicating with or working at the Lebanese Central Bank. She has also been ordered to pay a financial guarantee worth 1.5 million Euros.

In response to the judge's decision, Howayek's defense attorney, Mario Stasi, told AFP that his client denies the accusations. Stasi added that they will present evidence proving that the amassed funds primarily came from an inheritance granted by her father, a wealthy businessman who has since passed away.