Former BDL Governor's whereabouts remain elusive amid legal proceedings

Until Tuesday, the State Attorney under Judge Helena Iskandar's supervision, had not been able to locate the former governor of the Banque du Liban (BDL), Riad Salameh's place of residence to notify him of his scheduled appearance before the Accusatory Body on Wednesday.

Sources following the matter confirmed that "the notification authorities did not find Salameh at the registered residence mentioned in the investigation records conducted by Judge Charbel Abou Samra."

This article was originally published in and translated from the Lebanese newspaper Nidaa Al-Watan.

However, they expressed surprise at "the failure to involve the security agencies, which are well aware of Salameh's whereabouts at any given moment, using location tracking techniques based on electronic coordinates linked to Salameh's mobile phone." They also wondered "how he may be accompanied by official security personnel, yet these security forces cannot determine his location, despite being responsible for his protection and securing his route."

Sources added that "judicial and security cooperation should be able to locate any individual like Salameh, unless he has become a fugitive from justice and security, taking all precautions to prevent apprehension."

Other sources informed "Nidaa Al-Watan" that Salameh is currently confused, given the doubts regarding the promises of protection he had received from influential figures within the governance system. He was very surprised by the decision issued by the Judicial Accusation Authority to revoke the decision to leave him under investigation, a decision that Judge Abou Samra had previously agreed upon.

Additionally, the sources anticipated that "Salameh might have sought to ascertain his fate regarding his appearance before the Accusatory Body and whether he would be detained. However, he did not receive a satisfactory answer to base his decision."

The sources deduced that "Salameh may reappear and attend Wednesday's session or future investigation session after obtaining security, judicial, legal, and political consultations that reassure him and guarantee his non-detention."

It is worth noting that Salameh "denies the charges against him, affirming that he has provided sufficient documents proving that the Forry's commissions received (by his brother Raja's company) are not from public funds but rather private funds. If any wrongdoing exists, the statute of limitations has passed according to relevant laws."

The sources confirmed that "European courts, in at least seven countries, are closely monitoring the Lebanese judicial proceedings ever since international arrest warrants were issued against him through Interpol's red notice."