Riad Salameh files appeal against Judge Osman in Forry case

BEIRUT — The hearing scheduled for Thursday for the former governor of the Banque du Liban (BDL), Riad Salameh, in the Forry Associates case did not take place due to an appeal filed by Salameh’s lawyer against Beirut’s First Investigative Judge, Roula Osman.

Wassim Ghawi, the former governor’s representative, filed the appeal on Monday before the plenary assembly of the Court of Cassation, challenging the magistrate’s decision to continue her investigation. The appeal argues that Salameh and his brother Raja “have already been prosecuted criminally in the Forry commissions case before Mount Lebanon Investigative Judge Nicolas Mansour.” In that context, Riad Salameh was detained for 10 months and released on bail, which, combined with the bail paid by Raja Salameh, amounts “to the total sum of the commissions” the two brothers are accused of having received. “These same amounts are the subject of the complaint overseen by Judge Osman,” the lawyer argued, stressing that Salameh is therefore “being prosecuted before two criminal courts for the same acts,” which constitutes an “irregularity prohibited by the code of criminal procedure.”

In light of this appeal, the magistrate cannot issue any decision regarding the former governor until the plenary assembly of the Court of Cassation (composed of its ten chambers) rules on the matter.

The Forry Associates case concerns alleged commissions of $330 million said to have been received by a brokerage firm registered in the Virgin Islands, in connection with the sale of Banque du Liban financial securities, according to Lebanese and European investigators. The investigation was reopened last November by Judge Osman following a request from John Azzi, head of the State Litigation Department. Despite being relaunched after a suspension between December 2024 and November 2025, the inquiry has seen little progress, with hearings repeatedly postponed for various reasons. In mid-April, Salameh did not appear for medical reasons. Last January, the BDL, represented by its governor Karim Souhaid, joined the proceedings as a civil party, alongside the State Litigation Department.

Riad Salameh was held for a year between September 2024 and September 2025 in the so-called Optimum Invest case, in which he is suspected of having received commissions worth several million dollars. He was ultimately released on a record bail of $14 million.