BEIRUT – In a significant development, Lebanon’s top judicial body has taken over the corruption case against the country’s former central bank governor, a figure largely held responsible for Lebanon’s economic crisis, as confirmed by judicial sources on Tuesday.

Riad Salameh, who was released on a $14 million bail this past September after spending a year in detention, faces serious allegations of corruption, including charges of embezzlement and illicit enrichment. The 75-year-old’s case, along with those of his legal associates Marwan Khoury and Michel Toueini, has been moved to the Court of Cassation, the highest court in Lebanon. According to documents reviewed by the Associated Press, they risk arrest warrants should they fail to attend the trial proceedings.

Although a trial date has yet to be scheduled, the implications are significant as the court’s verdict will be final and not subject to appeal. Salameh has maintained his innocence in the face of these accusations. The information was confirmed by four officials, who spoke under anonymity due to restrictions on their communication with the media.

The charges against Salameh date back to September 2024, when he was accused of embezzling $42 million. Additional allegations of illicit enrichment emerged concerning a property in France, reportedly leased as an alternative office for the central bank. This apartment, rented from Salameh’s former partner, allegedly costs approximately $500,000 annually.

In September 2024, he was charged with the embezzlement of $42 million, with the court later adding charges of illicit enrichment over an apartment rented in France, supposedly to be a substitute office for the central bank if needed. Officials have said that Salameh had rented from his former romantic partner for about $500,000 annually.

He was once celebrated for steering Lebanon’s economic recovery, after a 15-year civil war, upon starting his long tenure in 1993 and keeping the fragile economy afloat during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.

But in 2023, he left his post after three decades with several European countries investigating allegations of financial crimes. Meanwhile, much of the Lebanese blame his policies for sparking a fiscal crisis in late 2019 where depositors lost their savings, and the value of the local currency collapsed.

On top of the inquiry in Lebanon, he is being investigated by a handful of European countries over various corruption charges. In August 2023, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Salameh.

Salameh has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.

Lebanon’s current central bank governor, Karim Souaid, announced last week that he’s filing legal complaints against a former central bank governor and former banking official who diverted funds from the bank to what he said were four shell companies in the Cayman Islands. He didn’t name either individual.

But Souaid said that Lebanon’s central bank would become a plaintiff in the country’s investigation into Forry Associates. The U.S. Treasury, upon sanctioning Salameh and his associates, described Forry Associates as “a shell company owned by Raja (Salameh’s brother) in the British Virgin Islands” used to divert about $330 million in transactions related to the central bank.

Several European countries, among them France, Germany, and Luxembourg, have been investigating the matter, freezing bank accounts and assets related to Salameh and his associates, with little to no cooperation from the central bank and Lebanese authorities.

Souaid said that he will travel later this month to Paris to exchange “highly sensitive” information as France continues its inquiries.