The Beirut Court of Appeals Rules that Mr. Riad Salameh is Responsible for the Damages Suffered by Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Regarding his Deposits and their Accrued Interest

BEIRUT - The Public Prosecution at the Court of Appeal, assigned to look into the appeal filed by the legal representatives of Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh regarding the decision of the Beirut First Investigative Judge who decided the dismissal of the case for lack of standing of plaintiff Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, has decided to overturn this ruling.

The court recognized the appellant as a victim of actions taken by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, concerning Abu-Ghazaleh’s demand for the return of his deposits and their accrued interest.

Up to this date, Abu-Ghazaleh has not received any funds due to Salameh's breaches of banking laws and regulations. The former Governor improperly encouraged and lured Abu-Ghazaleh to transfer his funds and deposits to Société Générale Bank in Lebanon, based on prior decisions that assured him that the Lebanese banking laws are consistent with those of other countries.

As a result, Abu-Ghazaleh transferred his funds as deposits to Lebanon, fully trusting the banking laws that permit him, upon his request, to withdraw his deposits and transfer them in the same currency (in US dollars) outside of Lebanon. 

However, after verifying the deposits have been transferred, the former Governor of the Central Bank exploited his position for the second time by issuing decisions to banks that contradicted earlier rulings, for the purpose of and intention of seizing the appellant's deposits and their accrued interest. 

Furthermore, the former governor did not stop at this level of harm inflicted on the appellant due to the non-return of his deposits and due interest; he permitted Société Générale Bank in Lebanon to close Abu-Ghazaleh’s bank account without consulting or notifying the account holder. 

As a result and since 2015, the appellant has been unaware of the status of his deposits and their accrued benefits, having received no funds until today.