Lebanon's longtime central bank governor Riad Salameh defended his record on Wednesday in a televised interview just days before he is set to leave office, denying he embezzled public funds and saying his policies benefited the economy.
Salameh, whose 30-year tenure as governor has been stained by a deepening financial crisis and charges at home and abroad of embezzlement of public funds, said he would leave his post when his latest term ends on July 31.
"I believe that during these 30 years, there were 27 of them when the Central Bank contributed with its monetary policies to establishing economic stability and development," he said, apparently referring to the years preceding the meltdown.among top politicians over what to do once he leaves office, with a cabinet session set for tomorrow to discuss a possible successor.
The collapse followed decades of corruption and profligate spending by ruling politicians, which many Lebanese say Salameh helped facilitate. Some analysts have described his policy to lend to the government as a "Ponzi scheme." "A lot of people were upset that this bank stayed steadfast, and that this bank on its own, because there was no government during this whole crisis, ran the economy," he said.Salameh stands formally accused in Lebanon, France and Germany of embezzling hundreds of millions in public funds from the central bank by collecting commissions as a fee from bond buyers and then transferring the funds to Forry Associates, owned by the governor's brother.
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