France charges HSBC in Riad Salameh case

The Swiss subsidiary of British bank HSBC has been charged in France as part of an embezzlement probe into former Lebanese central bank chief Riad Salameh, the financial crimes prosecutor's office said Thursday.

The bank was charged with money laundering and criminal conspiracy to commit acts such as embezzlement, the prosecutor's office said.

HSBC was required to deposit 80 million euros ($93 million) in case of possible penalties.

HSBC declined to comment on an ongoing investigation, but noted that it continued to cooperate with investigators.

French authorities opened the investigation in July 2021 on suspicions of criminal conspiracy to launder money in parallel to other European and Lebanese probes under way.

Salameh, 75, who headed Lebanon's central bank for three decades until 2023, is widely seen as the key culprit in Lebanon's dramatic economic crash which began in late 2019.

In May 2023, a French judge issued an international arrest warrant for Salameh, who also holds French citizenship.

Salameh is suspected of having amassed a fortune during his time leading Lebanon's central bank.

He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly said his wealth comes from private investment and his work at the American investment firm Merrill Lynch.

He was detained by Lebanese authorities in September 2024 and charged with embezzlement and money laundering.

At the start of this year Lebanese authorities ordered he stand trial for embezzling $44 million, according to a Lebanese judicial source.

French authorities have not charged Salameh as he did not respond to the French judge's summons and Lebanon does not extradite its citizens.

Salameh's brother Raja was charged in France in August 2024 and released on bail.

The indictment of HSBC "represents an important step forward in the potential restitution funds and reparations for the Lebanese people, who have been severely affected by one of the most serious crises in their recent history," said Chanez Mensous, a lawyer who handles corruption issues at the non-governmental organisation Sherpa.

Sherpa filed complaints in 2021 in France along with a group of Lebanese victims of corruption to push authorities to investigate.

"This is a decisive step forward that fully recognizes the bank’s responsibility in a mafia-style operation to the detriment of the Lebanese people," said William Bourdon and Vincent Brengarth, lawyers for the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon (CVPFCL) and for Sherpa.