Former Banque du Liban (BDL) governor Riad Salameh, once hailed as the architect of Lebanon’s financial system, has been released on bail of over $20 million after nearly a year in detention on charges of embezzling public funds. The decision, which comes at a time when ordinary Lebanese continue to reel from the country’s unprecedented economic collapse, has reignited debate over whether the nation’s judicial system is capable of holding its most powerful figures to account.

The ruling by a Lebanese court allows Salameh’s conditional release, subject to a one-year travel ban. Yet critics argue that the move represents more of a symbolic gesture than a serious step toward justice. For many Lebanese, the case epitomizes the broader pattern of impunity and political interference that has allowed decades of corruption to devastate the nation’s economy.

Riad Salameh, who served as central bank governor from 1993 until 2023, once enjoyed international acclaim for his management of Lebanon’s monetary policy. For years, he was credited with maintaining a stable currency despite political instability. But as Lebanon’s financial edifice began to crumble in 2019, the narrative shifted sharply. Critics accused him of overseeing what amounted to a state-sponsored Ponzi scheme, where new deposits were used to pay off old debts, all while politicians and elites benefited from years of mismanagement.

By the time Lebanon’s economy collapsed, ordinary citizens saw their savings evaporate, the local currency lose more than 90 percent of its value, and poverty rates soar. Salameh became one of the most reviled figures in the country, seen by many as the symbol of a system that enriched the few while impoverishing millions.

In September 2024, Salameh was arrested and charged with embezzling $44 million in public funds. He was also accused of illicit enrichment and misuse of power during his decades-long tenure at BDL. International investigators, however, believe the true scale of his alleged misappropriation may be far greater-estimated at over $300 million, much of it allegedly laundered through European real estate purchases and offshore accounts.

The $20 million bail set for Salameh is unprecedented in Lebanon’s judicial history and was accompanied by an additional 5 billion Lebanese pounds (roughly $55,000). Yet while the figure may sound significant, critics say it pales in comparison to the billions allegedly siphoned away. As former Mount Lebanon prosecutor general Ghada Aoun bluntly stated: “It is not significant considering the billions he stole.”

Aoun also raised the more fundamental point that bail is not mandatory in such serious cases. Under Lebanese criminal procedure, pretrial detention is capped at six months and can be renewed once, meaning Salameh was due for release by early September 2025 regardless. In that sense, the bail ruling may be seen less as a genuine judicial decision and more as a procedural outcome of Lebanon’s deeply flawed system.

Economist Walid Marrouch noted that even when compared to the narrower $44 million embezzlement charge, the bail represents only about half of the alleged amount stolen. Against the backdrop of international investigations estimating losses in the hundreds of millions, the sum becomes “a much smaller fraction of the sums he is accused of misappropriating.”

Beyond the numbers, what most worries observers is whether Lebanon’s judiciary is capable of delivering real accountability. Aoun voiced a concern shared by many Lebanese: that Salameh’s release is part of a broader pattern of stalling, diluting, and ultimately burying high-profile corruption cases. “The system is merely trying to create the appearance of pursuing him by detaining him for a limited period. If this system remains in control, he will never face trial; the files will be diluted, time will pass, and the case will be lost,” she warned.

Financial tax lawyer Karim Daher echoed the sentiment, arguing that Lebanon’s political elite has consistently blocked legal efforts to hold figures like Salameh accountable. “Legal tools exist to pursue accountability,” he said, “but they have not been used because of political blockage and obstruction by those who hold the power to decide on prosecutions.”

Even if Salameh ultimately walks free, experts say he is unlikely to escape the judgment of ordinary Lebanese. Marrouch emphasized that Salameh, along with the broader political and banking elite, will remain condemned “in the court of public opinion” for policies that led directly to Lebanon’s collapse. For millions of Lebanese who lost their life savings, who saw their wages obliterated, and who now struggle with skyrocketing inflation and shortages, Salameh’s release only deepens the perception that the powerful remain untouchable.

The broader tragedy, however, is that Lebanon’s economic collapse was not caused by one man alone. As many observers point out, the crisis was the culmination of decades of corruption, clientelism, and financial mismanagement by the entire political class. Salameh may have been the central figure, but he was hardly alone in enabling the system that eventually brought the country to its knees.

While Lebanon’s judiciary has shown little appetite for pursuing accountability, European authorities have been more aggressive. Investigations in France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland are ongoing, focusing on allegations that Salameh laundered embezzled Lebanese funds abroad. In 2022, the European Union’s criminal justice agency Eurojust froze assets worth €120 million linked to Salameh, including luxury properties previously revealed in investigative reports.

These international probes raise the possibility that even if Lebanon fails to hold Salameh accountable, foreign courts may succeed in exposing the scale of his alleged corruption. Yet here too, political complications abound, as Lebanon has so far resisted cooperating fully with foreign investigations.

For Lebanon, the Salameh case has become a litmus test for whether its institutions can deliver justice in an environment dominated by entrenched elites and political compromise. So far, the signals are bleak. His release on bail-despite the severity of the charges and the magnitude of Lebanon’s financial devastation-reinforces the widespread belief that the country’s judiciary serves the powerful rather than the people.

As Daher put it, “Even if Salameh were acquitted, nobody can pretend that he is not one of the main figures responsible for this financial collapse and turmoil. He is not the only one-far from it. The entire political and ruling elite, along with major bankers, are also jointly responsible.”

The release of Riad Salameh on record-setting bail may technically adhere to Lebanese law, but in the eyes of many, it is yet another reminder of the culture of impunity that pervades the country’s political and judicial systems. For the millions of Lebanese citizens who continue to suffer under the weight of an economic catastrophe, the decision is unlikely to restore confidence in their institutions. Instead, it deepens the sense of betrayal and despair that has marked Lebanon’s collapse.

Until Lebanon finds a way to hold figures like Salameh-and the political elite that enabled him-accountable, its path to recovery will remain blocked. For now, justice remains elusive, and accountability continues to be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.

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Source: Weekly Blitz :: Writings