Beirut – Lebanon’s Indictment Chamber has approved the release of former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh after setting bail at an unprecedented level — $20 million in cash plus 5 billion Lebanese pounds. Alongside the bail, the court imposed a one-year travel ban, barring Salameh from leaving the country as judicial proceedings continue.

Salameh, who headed the Banque du Liban for three decades until 2023, faces multiple charges at home and abroad, including illicit enrichment, money laundering, and misuse of public funds. Investigations in Lebanon, France, Switzerland and other European states have examined allegations that he diverted central bank money through offshore companies and property deals.

The former governor has consistently denied wrongdoing, framing the cases as politically motivated. However, critics point to his role in Lebanon’s financial collapse, which since 2019 has wiped out much of the country’s banking system and left millions struggling with poverty.

Legal experts say the bail decision — the largest ever recorded in Lebanon — reflects both the gravity of the accusations and the symbolic weight of prosecuting one of the country’s most powerful financial figures.

The next stage of proceedings will determine whether Salameh faces trial in Lebanon, extradition requests from European courts, or both. For now, his release under strict conditions signals a dramatic chapter in a corruption saga that has come to embody Lebanon’s deep financial and political crisis.