BEIRUT (AP) – The chief of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group yesterday called on the country’s central bank governor to resign amid mounting legal troubles.
The governor, Riad Salameh, should either step down or be stripped of his responsibilities, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech commemorating the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
On Wednesday, Salameh was questioned by a Lebanese judge and his Lebanese and French passports were confiscated, following an arrest warrant from France over corruption charges. He is a dual citizen.
The development effectively prevents Salameh from travelling abroad. Lebanon does not extradite its citizens to foreign countries or international tribunals.
“In Hezbollah, we believe that there are two options. The first is for the governor to step down of his own volition,” Nasrallah said.
The second, he said, is for the judiciary to take legal steps against Salameh and relieve from from his post.
Nasrallah’s remarks were the first time he called for Salameh’s resignation. A number of government officials have made similar calls but a Monday meeting of the Cabinet did not come up with a formal decision.
France, Germany and Luxembourg are investigating Salameh and his associates over myriad alleged financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and laundering of USD330 million.
A French investigative judge on May 16 issued an international arrest warrant, followed by an Interpol red notice, for the 72-year-old Salameh after he failed to show up in Paris for questioning.
