After three decades at the head of Lebanon’s central bank, Riad Salameh is one of the nation’s most recognisable figures. But last week, the veteran banker appeared to have vanished as State Security forces, charged with bringing him before a judge to be questioned over allegations of corruption and misconduct, struggled to locate him. Officers failed to track him down at either of his two residences or his office at Banque du Liban, prompting speculation that one of the world’s longest-serving central bank governors had gone into hiding. The extraordinary events shocked even Lebanese long weary of their country’s fractious politics and angry at the ruling elite for their mismanagement of the crisis. It also underscored the deepening scandal engulfing Salameh — a man many believe had a central role in the country’s financial meltdown. And it all played out as Beirut has been resuming talks with the IMF on a rescue package vital to stemming the collapse of the devastated economy. Central to these talks are the tens of billions of dollars of losses booked at the BdL. Salameh told the Financial Times he was working normally at the BdL but failed to attend the judicial hearing. He insisted he had done nothing wrong and said the allegations against him were politically motivated. “All the stories that some media put out are not substantiated,” he said in a telephone interview last week. “I’m in my house and the central bank.” Salameh is facing investigations related to his finances in several European countries, including France, Germany and Switzerland. In Lebanon, he is the subject of judicial investigations linked both to the overseas probes, as well as a complaint brought by Lebanese activists — the subject of an investigation by Judge Ghada Aoun. Aoun ordered State Security to bring Salameh to court last week after he failed to attend previous hearings. The governor has requested the judiciary replace Aoun, who imposed a travel ban on him in January, accusing her of bias. “I’m not saying I don’t want to be interrogated. I’m law-abiding, but I cannot accept to be interrogated by a judge who is already in hostility with me,” he said. Salameh, once feted for managing Lebanon’s finances but now accused of exacerbating the financial crisis through his mismanagement of the bank, declined to elaborate. But politicians supportive of Salameh accuse President Michel Aoun of orchestrating a campaign against the governor. Judge Aoun is considered close to the head of state, although they are not related. The president has publicly blamed the central bank for the financial crisis. Yet Prime Minister Najib Mikati, a billionaire businessman, said in December that Salameh should remain in his post, arguing that “one does not change their officers during a war”. Two weeks later, Mikati was forced to rebuff suggestions of judicial interference amid reports he put pressure on a judge involved in a probe into Salameh. In another sign of the fractious relationships between state bodies, Judge Aoun last week threatened legal action against the head of the Internal Security Forces for impeding the attempt of State Security forces to reach the governor. Sami Atallah, founding director of The Policy Initiative, a Beirut think-tank, said the Salameh controversy epitomises the rottenness of Lebanon’s political system. “We will not have justice as long as the ruling elite remain in power. We had a port explosion [in 2020] that destroyed a third of Beirut, we had a financial implosion that robbed citizens of their savings, and nobody is held accountable,” he said. “They [the ruling elite] make a mockery out of the judiciary system, they don’t want it to work.” But, he added: “Time is running out, and what is helping the case is the European investigations . . . They don’t care about Lebanese politics, so that adds pressure.” Salameh’s legal woes first escalated when Swiss authorities opened an investigation into allegations that the governor and his brother embezzled more than $300mn from the BdL through transactions to an offshore company. Swiss investigators requested assistance from Lebanese authorities in 2020. Salameh denies any wrongdoing. He said he ordered an audit into his finances and there was “not one dollar from the central bank that went into my account”. He said he had presented the audit to Mikati and foreign authorities. “I cannot make the audit public, but I gave it to the right authorities, they can use it as they wish,” he said. Salameh’s personal wealth has also contributed to speculation about his conduct. He said that after 20 years as a banker at Merrill Lynch, his net worth when he was appointed governor in 1993 was $23mn. “So you can imagine $23mn in 1993, how much it can grow over 30 years,” he said. “I also had inheritance.” He put his current net worth at about $180mn, adding that it “fluctuates”. “Those who are being proactive against me, I don’t know why . . . because essentially they have launched news, or rumours or unsubstantiated claims that I embezzled $2bn from the central bank,” he said. “They cannot see this $2bn, so they are searching the world.” Some are now beginning to question how long Salameh, once considered politically untouchable, can survive. “It’s incredible. I don’t think in history anything like that has ever happened,” said a veteran Lebanese banker. “The noose is tightening rapidly — even in Lebanon it’s difficult for him to survive this.” He said Salameh may find himself “unable to travel and confined to Lebanon, where he still has some degree of protection”. Asked about his ability to continue as governor given the probes and travel ban, Salameh said: “I don’t have any travel plans,” adding he would continue doing his duties. “I don’t know, if I have a mission to do, if this decision she [Aoun] took supersedes the interests of the country. We are speculating,” he said. “I have a clear conscience, a clean record . . . when there’s politics in it nobody knows what can happen.”