A Lebanese court has ordered seizure of assets of central bank governor Riad Salameh. In a statement from the Ministry of Justice, Judge Faisal Makki ruled that Salameh's assets — including his house in Beirut's Rabieh area, other property and personal allocation in Banque du Liban, Lebanon's central bank — would be seized with immediate effect, an Al Arabiya English report said on Monday. A group of lawyers filed a lawsuit last month alleging that the governor had violated a number of articles in the penal code including committing fraud, job negligence, and undermining the finances of the state, the report said. The group of lawyers include Hasan Bazzi, Haitham Ezzo, Jad Tohme, Joseph Wanis, Pierre El-Gemayel, Francois Kamel, Bassel Abbas. The ruling comes as Salameh draws increasing criticism for his complicity in a poorly-managed banking and finance sector, which many have likened to a regulated Ponzi scheme.
