Lebanon's central bank governor said on Wednesday he had ordered an audit of transactions and investments that have been the focus of media reports, saying this had shown no public funds were used to pay fees and commissions to a company owned by his brother.
In a statement, governor Riad Salameh said he had asked a renowned firm to carry out the audit. The statement did not name the firm.
Salameh, governor for nearly three decades, has faced increased scrutiny of his tenure since the financial system collapsed two years ago, plunging Lebanon into what the World Bank has called one of the world's sharpest ever depressions, Reuters reported.
Salameh said the audit would be shared with judicial authorities and other persons if relevant.
He is being investigated by authorities in three European countries, including a Swiss inquiry over alleged "aggravated money laundering" at the central bank (BDL) involving $300 million in gains by a company owned by his brother, Raja Salameh.
Salameh's statement said the audit had shown that "not a single penny" was used from public funds to pay fees and commissions to the company, Forry Associates Ltd. Raja Salameh has not publicly commented on the case.
The statement said transfers had been made from a clearing account at BDL to Forry Associates Ltd but amounts credited on this account were "paid by third parties different from BDL".
"No funds from BDL were deposited on this account."
Fees and commissions mentioned in the debit entries of the account were funded by deposits from third parties, it said.
Salameh said his opponents had disseminated "the false information that public funds were used".
He said the source of his wealth was "clear and documented", as he had been a successful private banker at Merrill Lynch for around 20 years with an annual income of about $2 million before he left that company in 1993.
"My wealth amounted in 1993, that is 28 years ago, to $23 million in addition to inherited assets," Salameh said in the statement, adding that it was invested and has grown in value.
Western governments want the central bank audited as a condition for financial support.
Last year, Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) withdrew from the audit because it said it had not received the information it needed from the central bank. Last month, the presidency said A&M would resume the task.
