Ex-minister Salam freed on bail in corruption case

Lebanon's judiciary approved the release on bail of former economy minister Amin Salam on Tuesday after six months of detention over corruption linked to contracts deemed suspicious, a judicial official said.

Salam, who served in the cabinet of former prime minister Najib Mikati from 2021 to 2025, is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon's economic crisis in 2019.

The official, who requested anonymity, told AFP Lebanon's judiciary "agreed to release former economy minister Amin Salam on bail of nine billion Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $100,000" and a travel ban.

The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison.

In June, another judicial official said Salam had been arrested in connection with alleged "falsification, embezzlement and suspicious contracts."

Salam's adviser Fadi Tamim was sentenced in 2023 to one year in prison for blackmail and personal enrichment at the expense of insurance companies.

The former minister's brother Karim Salam was also arrested earlier this year in a "case of illicit enrichment, forgery and extortion of insurance companies," committed "under cover of the minister himself," the official said in June.

Many in Lebanon attribute the economic crisis to mismanagement and corruption that has plagued state institutions for decades.

President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who both took office this year, have vowed to make the fight against endemic corruption a priority, as part of the reforms demanded by international donors.

Both have vowed to uphold the independence of the judiciary and prevent interference in its work, in a country plagued by official impunity.

In September, former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, was released after being detained for over a year by paying a record bail of more than $14 million.