Ill-gotten gains in Lebanon – Riad Salameh
For justice beyond
borders
Why ill-gotten gains in Lebanon?
Sherpa recalls that any person accused or prosecuted by a national or international jurisdiction is presumed innocent until found guilty by a final court decision. In this respect, an appealable decision does not constitute a final decision.
Prominent Lebanese figures, including Riad Salameh, former Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, and his relatives, have contributed to plunging Lebanon into a serious financial crisis through mismanagement of monetary policy.
In 2015, the Swiss Leaks revealed how Riad Salameh, and his entourage accumulated significant wealth by embezzling Lebanese public money. Riad Salameh is suspected to have built up substantial banking and real estate assets in several countries around the world, by diverting funds from the Bank of Lebanon, via complex financial arrangements, at the center of which lies “Forry Associates Ltd” allegedly owned by his brother.
In 2021, Sherpa and the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon filed a complaint with the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, then in Luxembourg where several companies could have served as intermediaries for the alleged embezzlement of public funds. The revelations led to a large number of investigations and legal proceedings in France and abroad.
As well as revealing the extent of corruption in Lebanon and the collusion of a European financial system that allowed massive capital flight, the affair also highlights the role of banking and financial intermediaries who made these fund transfers possible. While Lebanon is experiencing a collapse of historic proportions, the repair of the damage suffered by the Lebanese population and the necessary restitution of misappropriated assets must remain at the center of the debates.
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Impact
Why initiate legal action?
The law is a tool of power in a globalised world. It underpins power relations and encourages impunity for the most powerful. Because of their transnational nature, or the political and economic stakes involved, many violations escape justice. Bringing cases before the courts means putting the debate back on a legal footing, giving a voice to the people affected and thus restoring the legal tool to social movements.
Thanks to the work of NGOs and journalists, the consequences of globalisation are increasingly being documented and denounced. Our legal actions make it possible to initiate contentious proceedings, establish the facts and apply the rules of law to these situations. They also aim to provide practical solutions by putting a stop to violations, holding the players concerned responsible and/or enabling victims to obtain compensation.
In support of our advocacy and in parallel with our legal laboratory and capacity-sharing activities, our legal actions are designed to contribute to wider and lasting change. They fuel public debate to highlight the limits of the legal framework and the obstacles facing the victims of globalised capitalism. They set precedents that shape a more protective legal framework.
