Lebanese prosecutors have ordered the arrest of the director of monetary operations at the central bank, Mazen Hamdane, as part of an investigation into exchange rate manipulations.
The Lebanese pound had been pegged to the dollar at 1,500 since 1997 but the country's worst economic crisis in decades has seen its value plunge by more than half on the black market.
The central bank has sought to stem the fall by ordering exchange offices to cap the rate at 3,200 to the dollar, but the pound has kept sliding.
Hamdane was arrested on Thursday by security forces, a security source confirmed, and he was escorted to his office to pick up documents.
Lebanese officials already arrested the head of the money changers' union as it battles to stabilize the value of the country's currency on the black market.
The central bank official's arrest comes as tensions grow between the government and Central Bank Governor Riad Salame, who has been in office since 1993.
Praised by his supporters as the architect of the stability of the pound, he has been unable in recent months to stem the fall of the local currency.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Thursday called for further investigation into speculation on the Lebanese pound.
"The Lebanese have a right to know the reasons for this rise in the exchange rate, which manipulates the national currency," he said.
Since October 2019, Lebanon has been rocked by anti-government protests that have denounced the entire political class, accusing them of corruption and incompetence.
The government has adopted an economic reform plan and began remote discussions with the International Monetary Fund for some $10 billion of aid to help Lebanon out of the worst financial crisis in its history.
