BEIRUT: Lebanon’s justice ministry formally accused former central bank governor Riad Salameh of financial crimes on Thursday, the state news agency and judicial sources said, echoing charges brought against him by state prosecutors when he was arrested this week.
Salameh, 73, was arrested on Tuesday over alleged financial crimes including illicit enrichment through public funds. Reuters has been unable to reach Salameh or a lawyer for him since his arrest. He has previously denied accusations of wrongdoing.
The justice ministry’s move on Thursday aims to preserve the state’s right to reclaim any public funds which have been embezzled, a judicial source told Reuters.
Salameh’s three decades in charge of the central bank came to an end last year when he left office with his legacy tarnished by accusations of corruption at home and abroad and by the catastrophic collapse of Lebanon’s financial system in 2019.
Protesters rallied in front of the justice ministry on Thursday in support of Salameh’s arrest, calling for him to remain behind bars and burning his picture. The protest was called by Depositors’ Outcry, a group campaigning for the rights of depositors with savings frozen in Lebanese banks.
Financial prosecutor Ali Ibrahim on Wednesday charged Salameh with embezzlement, theft of public funds, forgery, and illicit enrichment, according to the National News Agency and judicial sources.
The authorities have not published the charges against him.
Judicial sources have said he has been held on charges of accruing more than $110 million via financial crimes involving Optimum Invest, a Lebanese firm that offers income brokerage services.
Optimum Invest said on Wednesday it is fully “assisting the judicial authorities in their investigation and provided them with all the information and documents previously requested.”
It said its dealings with the central bank “were conducted in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations.”
The charges brought against Salameh this week are separate from previous charges of financial crimes linked to Forry Associates, a company controlled by his brother, Raja. The brothers — who deny any wrongdoing — were accused of using Forry to divert $330 million in public funds through commissions.
Two judicial sources told Reuters on Wednesday Salameh would remain in detention at least until a hearing is scheduled, probably next week.
Lebanese justice ministry accuses former central bank chief of financial crimes
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Lebanese justice ministry accuses former central bank chief of financial crimes
- The justice ministry’s move on Thursday aims to preserve the state’s right to reclaim any public funds which have been embezzled
- Protesters rallied in front of the justice ministry on Thursday in support of Salameh’s arrest
Israel security agency acknowledges failure in preventing October 7 attack
- The acknowledgement comes days after an Israeli military investigations noted similar failings to protect Israelis during the attack, which left hundreds dead and sparked a devastating war in the Gaza Strip
JERUSALEM: Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet acknowledged on Tuesday its failure in preventing Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, saying that if it had acted differently the deadliest day in Israel’s history could have been averted.
The Internal Security Agency, as it is formally known, said that an internal probe “reveals that if the Shin Bet had acted differently, both in the years leading up to the attack and on the night of the attack... the massacre could have been prevented.”
The acknowledgement comes days after an Israeli military investigations noted similar failings to protect Israelis during the attack, which left hundreds dead and sparked a devastating war in the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed.
In the opening lines of the summary of findings from the Shin Bet investigation, the agency’s chief Ronen Bar takes responsiblity for failures, saying that “as the head of the organization, I will bear this heavy burden on my shoulders for the rest of my life.”
However, he added that in order to truly understand how the unprecedented attack was not stopped, there needed to be a broader probe into the role of Israel’s security and political elements and the cooperation between them.
According to the summary, the investigation focused on two key areas — the direct reasons that led to the Shin Bet failing to recognize the immediate threat from Hamas, and the developments preceding the attack.
It noted that “the investigation found no indication that the Shin Bet underestimated the enemy,” Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“On the contrary, there was a deep understanding of the threat, initiatives, and a desire to neutralize the threat, particularly targeting Hamas leadership,” the summary said.
The investigation found that prior knowledge of a Hamas attack plan was not treated as an “actionable threat” and there was an overarching assessment that Hamas was more focused on “inciting violence” in the occupied West Bank.
Additionally, the investigation found that “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military buildup,” with financial aid from Qatar going directly to Hamas’s military wing.
In conclusion, the agency said in its summary, “the Shin Bet failed to provide a warning regarding the scope of the attack and the large-scale raid by Hamas” that sparked months of war in Gaza.
“The warning issued on the night of October 7 was not translated into operational directives, and the response given by the Shin Bet... was insufficient to prevent or thwart the large scale attack.”
In the military inquiry, which includes 77 separate investigations into what transpired in communities, army bases and multiple confrontation points around the Gaza periphery, the army noted flaws in its intelligence assessments of Hamas, including the group’s military capabilities and overall intentions.
“We did not even imagine such a scenario,” said an army official who had briefed the media ahead of the probe’s release on Thursday.
The official said the army had not maintained “a comprehensive understanding of the enemy’s military capabilities” and that it was “overconfident in its knowledge.”
“We were addicted to precise intel,” a second senior military official said at the same briefing, explaining that despite signs Hamas was preparing to attack, the army was too focused on what it believed was accurate information.
Also following the publication of the findings of the army’s investigation, the outgoing chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said that he took full responsibility for failing to predict or stop the attack.
In addition to Halevi, the head of the military’s southern command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, and military intelligence chief Major General Aharon Haliva have both stepped down.
Lebanon, Syria leaders commit to managing border incidents
- Hezbollah lost its key supply route from backer Iran through Syria after Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebels ousted Assad
CAIRO: Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun held talks Tuesday with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Al-Sharaa on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Cairo, during which the pair agreed on containing incidents along their shared border.
Syria shares a 330-kilometer (205-mile) border with Lebanon, with no official demarcation at various points, rendering it porous and prone to smuggling.
Syria and Lebanon have a fraught history of conflict and violence, with the ouster in December of Assad after five decades of rule by his clan, offering an opening for a new start.
Aoun’s January 9 election ended a two-year-long presidential vacuum in Lebanon, after Hezbollah, long the country’s dominant force, suffered staggering losses in a war with Israel.
Hezbollah also lost its key supply route from backer Iran through Syria after Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebels ousted Assad.
Sharaa then became Syria’s interim president.
“President Aoun and Syria’s President Sharaa tackled several issues,” the Lebanese presidency said on X Tuesday, adding that they agreed on “the need to control the border between the two countries.”
While Aoun and Sharaa had spoken by phone in February, Tuesday marked their first in-person meeting.
Syria’s new authorities announced last month the launch of a security campaign in the border province of Homs, aimed at shutting down arms and goods smuggling routes.
They accused Hezbollah of launching attacks, saying it was sponsoring cross-border smuggling gangs.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, the security campaign targeted drug smugglers and operators from the area with links to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah fought side by side with Assad’s troops after intervening in the Syrian civil war, which the ousted leader sparked by cracking down on democracy protests in 2011.
Infants as young as one raped in Sudan
- The UN agency cited a database compiled by Sudan-based groups helping survivors of sexual violence, which showed that of 221 cases involving children registered since last year, 16 were under five years old, including four one-year-olds
GENEVA: Children under five, including babies, are among the victims of sexual violence in the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to findings shared on Tuesday by UN children’s agency UNICEF.
The UN agency cited a database compiled by Sudan-based groups helping survivors of sexual violence, which showed that of 221 cases involving children registered since last year, 16 were under five years old, including four one-year-olds. About one-third of victims were male, it said.
The database includes cases from across the country, but aid workers and rights groups think it represents just a fraction of the cases because stigma, fear of reprisals and lack of access to medical facilities limit reporting.
Some of the survivors cited by UNICEF say they became pregnant as a result of the assaults, resulting in rejection by relatives and additional hardships.
One woman who was held in captivity with other women and girls was quoted saying, “After nine at night, someone opens the door, carrying a whip, selects one of the girls, and takes her to another room. I could hear the little girl crying and screaming.”
“They only release these girls at dawn, and they return almost unconscious.”
UNICEF did not say who was responsible for the child rapes, calling on both sides to respect international law. Neither the RSF nor the army immediately responded to requests for comment.
“Children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement sent to journalists.
War erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering huge displacement and hunger crises.
A UN fact-finding mission has described levels of sexual abuse as “staggering.” The majority of known cases were perpetrated by the RSF and its allies, the mission said, noting it was more difficult to report in army-controlled territories.
There have been reports about women who said they were gang raped in ethnically targeted attacks by the RSF and allied Arab militiamen.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said last week that over half of reported rape cases in Sudan were gang rape, “an indication that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war.”
The RSF has previously said it would investigate allegations and bring perpetrators to justice.
Morocco adds prison time for activist jailed over earthquake response criticism
RABAT: A Moroccan appeals court on Tuesday handed activist Said Ait Mahdi a one-year prison term, up from the initial three-month term he had been sentenced to for defamation, his lawyer said.
Ait Mahdi, who leads a group for victims of a major 2023 earthquake, has been in detention since December 23 after criticizing the kingdom’s response to the disaster.
In January, a Marrakech court had sentenced him to three months in jail for “defamation, insult and the publication of false allegations aimed at infringing on privacy.”
On Tuesday, the Marrakech appeals court “increased the sentence... to one year” behind bars, lawyer Mohamed El Ghalloussi told AFP, calling it a “very harsh and shocking” ruling.
Three other defendants in the case who had been initially acquitted were given four months in jail each for “insulting public officials,” the lawyer said.
According to Ghalloussi, the case was based on “complaints from local officials following social media posts they considered offensive.”
El Haouz province, to the south of Marrakech, was one of the areas hit hardest by the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the region in September 2023, killing close to 3,000 people and wounding 5,600.
It also destroyed around 60,000 homes in the High Atlas mountains, forcing many families to live in tents through the winter.
Ait Mahdi’s group has campaigned for faster reconstruction and more aid to those affected.
The Moroccan authorities said in December they had issued 57,000 reconstruction permits and that more than 35,000 homes had been or were in the process of being rebuilt.
The authorities have put in place an $11 billion, five-year reconstruction and development plan for the six provinces hit by the disaster.
Israel kills three Palestinians in continued West Bank onslaught
- Hamas commander’s body was taken away by Israeli troops after he was shot dead
RAMALLAH: The Israeli military said on Tuesday it killed three Palestinians as it expanded its offensive in the occupied West Bank, currently in its 43rd day, to new parts of the northern city of Jenin.
Israeli forces “expanded the counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria to additional areas in Jenin,” the military said, using the Biblical name for that part of the West Bank, adding a local Hamas leader was among those it killed in the overnight raid.
The military said that in an exchange of fire, troops killed “the leader of the Hamas terrorist network in the area” along with another Palestinian militant, and arrested three more.
It said during a further inspection of the premises where the militants were, troops killed a third armed militant “who posed an immediate threat.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the alleged Hamas leader as Aser Saadiya, adding that his body was taken away by Israeli troops after he was shot dead in an eastern neighborhood of Jenin.
In the early hours of Tuesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces had handed over the body of another man in his 20s killed in east Jenin.
The head of Jenin’s government hospital, Wisam Baker, said that a third man he identified as Jihad Alawneh was declared dead on arrival at the hospital early on Tuesday.
He said the 25-year-old had bled out after being shot in the thigh by Israeli troops.
The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21, deploying tanks in the territory for the first time in 20 years.
Dubbed “Iron Wall” by the Israeli military, the operation came days after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza.
It has involved raids in multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, regarded as bastions of Palestinian militancy.
