Salameh says ready to meet with Swiss prosecutors

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has said that he is willing to meet with Swiss prosecutors over a money-laundering investigation.

"I have already informed the Swiss justice that I am ready to go," he told Swiss television SRF.

"Because they asked the question in February 2020 whether they can (interview) me in Lebanon or in Switzerland. I said I am ready to go to Switzerland... I am waiting for them to call for me," Salameh added.

Asked about properties he owns in Switzerland, Salameh said he used investment advisers and bank loans to buy property, adding: "I don't see where is the crime in that."

Lebanon opened a local probe into Salameh's wealth last year, after the Swiss top prosecutor's office requested assistance in an investigation into more than $300 million which he allegedly embezzled out of the central bank with the help of his brother.

Salameh also faces lawsuits in other European countries, including France and Britain.

Lebanon's top banker of three decades is blamed for policies that contributed to the country's financial collapse, a charge he has repeatedly denied.