Judge Helena Iskandar sues Hoayek, Salameh brothers

Head of the lawsuit department at the Justice Ministry Judge Helena Iskandar filed Wednesday a complaint against Central Bank chief Riad Salameh, his brother Raja, and his assistant Marianne Hoayek.

Iskandar had met earlier in the morning with a European legal team visiting Lebanon to probe Salameh's wealth. The judge is representing the Lebanese state at the questioning in the European probe.

Salameh, his brother Raja and his assistant Hoayek were charged with corruption, embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion and they were ordered detained. Their assets and bank accounts were also frozen.

The embattled central bank chief faces embezzlement accusations in separate investigations in Lebanon and abroad, looking into the fortune he has amassed in a country mired in financial crisis.

He had been summoned for questioning on Wednesday in the domestic case, but that session has been postponed to make way for the European investigators from France, Luxembourg and Belgium.

Salameh did not attend Wednesday's session during which Judge Charbel Abu Samra would have questioned him in the presence of the European investigators. The session was postponed to Thursday and Salameh's lawyer said the central bank chief will show up tomorrow.