BEIRUT: Spain’s top diplomat announced Wednesday a €10 million aid package for Lebanon’s army, in a boost for the armed forces who have a crucial role in implementing a fragile Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.
“This announcement of 10 million euros for the United Nations Development Programme” will contribute to “supplement the salaries of the Lebanese Armed Forces” as well as finance “solar panels and logistical aspects” of the army, Jose Manuel Albares said during a visit to Beirut.
Lebanon has struggled for years to finance its public institutions including the army following a 2019 economic crisis.
It now also faces the challenge of rebuilding the country after more than two months of war between Hezbollah and Israel that the group had initiated over the Gaza conflict and ended in November.
“Aid for... the reconstruction especially of south of Lebanon, will be necessary to stabilize the country,” Albares told reporters after meeting Lebanon’s new president, former army chief Joseph Aoun.
Spain has contributed more than 650 personnel to the UN peacekeeping force in the country’s south (UNIFIL) with force chief Aroldo Lazaro hailing from Spain.
A committee composed of Israeli, Lebanese, French and US delegates, alongside a representative from UNIFIL, has been tasked with monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire deal.
On Wednesday, the US army official on the committee said the Israeli army was on a “very positive path” to withdraw from Lebanon’s south ahead of the deadline for implementing the truce later this month.
Lebanese army “checkpoints and patrols operate effectively throughout south-west Lebanon, and the soldiers are dedicated to their mission as Lebanon’s sole security guarantors,” said Major General Jasper Jeffers during a visit to the checkpoints.
“We are on a very positive path to continue the withdrawal of the IDF as planned, and the LAF is providing for the security and stability of Lebanon,” he added.
Under the November 27 ceasefire accord, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south of Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws.
At the same time, Hezbollah is required to pull its forces north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure it has in the country’s south.
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Spain pledges 10 million euros for Lebanon army
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Spain pledges 10 million euros for Lebanon army
- Jose Manuel Albares: The 10 million euros will contribute to ‘supplement the salaries of the Lebanese Armed Forces’ as well as finance ‘solar panels and logistical aspects’ of the army
- Under the Nov. 27 ceasefire accord, the Lebanese army has 60 days to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south of Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws
Lebanon ex-central bank chief's corruption case being sent to top court, officials say
BEIRUT: The corruption case of Lebanon's former central bank governor, who is widely blamed for the country’s economic meltdown, has been transferred to the country's highest court, judicial officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Riad Salameh was released on $14 million bail in September after a year in prison while awaiting trial in Lebanon on corruption charges, including embezzlement and illicit enrichment.
The trial of Salameh, 75, and his two legal associates, Marwan Khoury and Michel Toueini, will now be heard at the Court of Cassation, according to a copy of the notice obtained by the AP. Salameh and the others will be issued with arrest warrants if they don't show up for trial at the court.
No trial date has been set yet. Salameh denies the charges. The court’s final ruling can't be appealed, according to the four officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they weren't authorized to speak with the media.
In September 2024, he was charged with the embezzlement of $42 million, with the court later adding charges of illicit enrichment over an apartment rented in France, supposedly to be a substitute office for the central bank if needed. Officials have said that Salameh had rented from his former romantic partner for about $500,000 annually.
He was once celebrated for steering Lebanon’s economic recovery, after a 15-year civil war, upon starting his long tenure in 1993 and keeping the fragile economy afloat during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.
But in 2023, he left his post after three decades with several European countries investigating allegations of financial crimes. Meanwhile, much of the Lebanese blame his policies for sparking a fiscal crisis in late 2019 where depositors lost their savings, and the value of the local currency collapsed.
On top of the inquiry in Lebanon, he is being investigated by a handful of European countries over various corruption charges. In August 2023, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Salameh.
Salameh has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.
Lebanon’s current central bank governor, Karim Souaid, announced last week that he's filing legal complaints against a former central bank governor and former banking official who diverted funds from the bank to what he said were four shell companies in the Cayman Islands. He didn't name either individual.
But Souaid said that Lebanon's central bank would become a plaintiff in the country's investigation into Forry Associates. The U.S. Treasury, upon sanctioning Salameh and his associates, described Forry Associates as “a shell company owned by Raja (Salameh’s brother) in the British Virgin Islands” used to divert about $330 million in transactions related to the central bank.
Several European countries, among them France, Germany, and Luxembourg, have been investigating the matter, freezing bank accounts and assets related to Salameh and his associates, with little to no cooperation from the central bank and Lebanese authorities.
Souaid said that he will travel later this month to Paris to exchange “highly sensitive” information as France continues its inquiries.
Riad Salameh was released on $14 million bail in September after a year in prison while awaiting trial in Lebanon on corruption charges, including embezzlement and illicit enrichment.
The trial of Salameh, 75, and his two legal associates, Marwan Khoury and Michel Toueini, will now be heard at the Court of Cassation, according to a copy of the notice obtained by the AP. Salameh and the others will be issued with arrest warrants if they don't show up for trial at the court.
No trial date has been set yet. Salameh denies the charges. The court’s final ruling can't be appealed, according to the four officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they weren't authorized to speak with the media.
In September 2024, he was charged with the embezzlement of $42 million, with the court later adding charges of illicit enrichment over an apartment rented in France, supposedly to be a substitute office for the central bank if needed. Officials have said that Salameh had rented from his former romantic partner for about $500,000 annually.
He was once celebrated for steering Lebanon’s economic recovery, after a 15-year civil war, upon starting his long tenure in 1993 and keeping the fragile economy afloat during long spells of political gridlock and turmoil.
But in 2023, he left his post after three decades with several European countries investigating allegations of financial crimes. Meanwhile, much of the Lebanese blame his policies for sparking a fiscal crisis in late 2019 where depositors lost their savings, and the value of the local currency collapsed.
On top of the inquiry in Lebanon, he is being investigated by a handful of European countries over various corruption charges. In August 2023, the United States, United Kingdom and Canada imposed sanctions on Salameh.
Salameh has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. He insists that his wealth comes from inherited properties, investments and his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch.
Lebanon’s current central bank governor, Karim Souaid, announced last week that he's filing legal complaints against a former central bank governor and former banking official who diverted funds from the bank to what he said were four shell companies in the Cayman Islands. He didn't name either individual.
But Souaid said that Lebanon's central bank would become a plaintiff in the country's investigation into Forry Associates. The U.S. Treasury, upon sanctioning Salameh and his associates, described Forry Associates as “a shell company owned by Raja (Salameh’s brother) in the British Virgin Islands” used to divert about $330 million in transactions related to the central bank.
Several European countries, among them France, Germany, and Luxembourg, have been investigating the matter, freezing bank accounts and assets related to Salameh and his associates, with little to no cooperation from the central bank and Lebanese authorities.
Souaid said that he will travel later this month to Paris to exchange “highly sensitive” information as France continues its inquiries.
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