European legal team arriving in Lebanon in corruption probe

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s justice minister says a European judicial delegation from France, Germany, and Luxembourg has started to arrive in Lebanon to probe the country’s Central Bank governor and dozens of other individuals over suspected corruption. He said on Wednesday the rest of the delegation will arrive next Monday. The embattled governor, Riad Salameh, has been suspected of laundering public money in Europe. He was once hailed as the guardian of Lebanon’s financial stability, but many in the cash-strapped country now hold the 72-year-old Salameh responsible for the country’s unprecedented economic crisis. They cite policies that drove up national debt and caused the Lebanese pound to lose more than 90% of its value against the dollar.