Khaberni - Prosecutors in France this month have levied charges against the British bank "HSBC" in Switzerland, following allegations of its involvement in assisting the former governor of Lebanon's central bank, Riad Salameh, in embezzling funds. The French judiciary will subsequently issue its decision on whether to refer the case to court or to drop the charges, according to the British newspaper Financial Times.
Riad Salameh and his brother Raja, who owns the company "Forry Associates", are under investigation in Lebanon and five European countries on charges of misappropriating funds from the Bank of Lebanon and transferring them abroad.
According to the Financial Times, French investigators accuse Salameh - who was the governor of the Bank of Lebanon from 1993 to 2023 - of transferring $330 million from the central bank to "Forry Associates" between 2002 and 2015.
The investigators also traced 174 financial transactions from "Forry Associates" to Raja Salameh's personal account at "HSBC" during the period between 2009 and 2016, totaling $204 million, according to the newspaper citing informed sources and legal documents.
The British newspaper added that Salameh has repeatedly stated that he has no connection with "Forry Associates", the company owned by his brother. However, Lebanese and European investigators have said that this company played a central role in a scheme to embezzle public funds from the Bank of Lebanon.
Switzerland's Stance
The newspaper indicated that the Swiss Financial Regulatory Authority had previously concluded that HSBC's branch in Switzerland clearly violated anti-money laundering requirements in its dealings with clients from Lebanon.
The Authority, in its decision issued in 2024, criticized the bank for its delay in reporting its suspicions regarding the nature of transactions of Riad Salameh and his brother.
The Swiss Authority stated in its report that the bank "failed to recognize the money laundering indicators highlighted by these transactions", referring to the financial transactions associated with the Salameh family.
The Authority warned the bank that investigations concerning money laundering could significantly impact its operations, prompting it to cease dealings with over a thousand wealthy clients from the Middle East, according to the newspaper.
HSBC opened an account for the "Forry Associates" company, registered in the British Virgin Islands, after its establishment in 2001. The law firm "Mossack Fonseca" managed its accounts, and the owner was Raja Salameh.
The company signed a contract with the Bank of Lebanon in 2002 so that its owner, Raja Salameh, would receive commissions for acting as a financial intermediary providing services to the bank, when his brother Riad Salameh was governor of the central bank.
However, European investigators, according to the newspaper, found no activities for "Forry Associates" or any clients or employees thereof; its sole activity was receiving money from the Bank of Lebanon.
Files in Lebanon and Europe
Riad Salameh faces charges in Lebanon for embezzling $44 million, and he is under criminal investigation in several European countries for embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from the central bank.
The Financial Times noted that about two-thirds of banking deposits in Lebanon were invested with the state in 2019, and their interest represented about one-third of the annual government expenses. When the state defaulted, the Lebanese economy faced a significant financial crisis that continues to unfold.
The Lebanese Cabinet approved in December 2025 a bill for the recovery of deposits aimed at addressing the financial crisis that has crippled the Lebanese economy for 6 years.
Known as the "Financial Gap Law", the legislation aims to distribute the massive losses resulting from the financial collapse in Lebanon in 2019 among the state, the central bank, commercial banks, and depositors, and allows depositors whose savings were frozen to gradually recover their funds.
