Lebanese-German legal collaboration: Advancing Riad Salameh's prosecution

The file of the former Governor of Banque du Liban, Riad Salameh, returned to the forefront through the resumption of European delegations' visits to Lebanon, the follow-up of the procedures they are undertaking, and the cooperation between them and the Lebanese judiciary.

This article was originally published in and translated from the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Anbaa.

Al-Anbaa learned from knowledgeable judicial sources that "a German delegation headed by a high-ranking officer visited Judge Ghassan Oueidat, in his office inside the Palace of Justice in Beirut, conveying to him the readiness of the German judiciary to cooperate with Lebanon in case it wishes to file a lawsuit against Salameh in Germany, based on the progress achieved in the German investigations."

The sources said that Oueidat "welcomed the cooperation and referred the German proposal to the head of the Cases Authority at the Justice Ministry, Judge Helana Iskandar, to take the necessary legal action, as the Cases Authority is the reference representing the Lebanese state and authorized to prosecute on its behalf."

The German authorities seek to provide Lebanon with all the information they have regarding Salameh's file, and judicial sources revealed that "the German side expressed its readiness to hand over to Lebanon the information, documents, and evidence obtained by the German investigations that led to the issuance of an arrest warrant in absentia against Salameh."

In addition, the German authorities noted that "the First Investigative judge in Beirut, Judge Bilal Halawi, was briefed on the atmosphere of the German delegation's visit and will consider the possibility of sending a judicial request to Germany to obtain the needed information."

The sources clarified that "the obstacle delaying the Lebanese judiciary's indictment of Salameh in Germany is the inability to provide the financial fees for a law firm that is supposed to be tasked with this mission in Germany."

The sources added that Lebanon "will contact a law firm in Germany and propose to postpone the payment of fees until the end of the trial proceedings and the recovery of Salameh's funds held in Germany for the benefit of the Lebanese state, amounting to 140 million euros, in addition to properties, houses, and companies."

The German judiciary issued on May 23 an arrest warrant against Riad Salameh after investigations conducted by a German judicial delegation, which participated with European investigators and included Salameh, his brother Raja, his assistant Marianne Howayek, officials at the central bank, and owners and directors of Lebanese banks.

Lebanon was notified orally of this memorandum, the second issued by the European judiciary after the French arrest warrant issued on May 16 as well.