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Dive deeper into the week’s biggest stories from the Middle East and around the world with The National’s foreign desk. Nuances are often missed in day-to-day headlines. We go Beyond the Headlines by bringing together the voices of experts and those living the news to provide a clearer picture of the region’s shifting political and social landscape.
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Friday Aug 25, 2023
Friday Aug 25, 2023
Riad Salameh, Lebanon's former central bank governor, was once celebrated as a “financial wizard” who kept the country’s economy prospering for years. He is now an international fugitive wanted by France and Germany, and sanctioned by the US and the UK.
He is wanted for the alleged embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars in Lebanese public funds, which were funnelled into real estate properties across Europe and the US.
The Salameh saga shows how a man was able to appropriate an institution for his personal gain and that of his inner circle for decades, without raising alarms among auditors, international banks or even central bank employees, until the entire system finally crumbled.
This week on Beyond the Headlines, Nada Maucourant Atallah delves into the story behind Riad Salameh's fall from grace.