Lebanon freezes former central bank chief's bank accounts

Lebanon ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of its embattled former central bank governor on Monday, days after the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada slapped him with sanctions.

Former governor Riad Salameh, 73, who left his post of 30 years at the end of last month without a successor, is widely viewed as a key culprit in the country's dramatic economic crash.

The central bank's special investigation committee has ordered the lifting of banking secrecy as well as the freezing of accounts "that are directly or indirectly" linked to Salameh, it said in a statement.

The same decision measures were applied to Salameh's son Nady, his brother Raja, his former assistant Marianne Hoayek and his former partner Anna Kosakova.

On August 10, the US Canada and Britain announced sanctions against Salameh, his brother Raja, and Hoayek, while Washington and London also included his former partner Kosakova in their lists.

In addition, the US sanctioned his son Nady Salameh.

Salameh is wanted in France and Germany, and Interpol has issued a Red Notice for his arrest, but Lebanon does not extradite its nationals.

Lebanon's deeply divided political class has failed to agree on a permanent replacement for Salameh, creating another power vacuum in a country that also has no president and is ruled by a caretaker government.

The central bank's first vice-governor, Wassim Manssouri, has temporarily picked up the reins.

A preliminary forensic audit of Lebanon's central bank by professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has painted a damning picture of the institution under Salameh.