London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

French Prosecutors Name Ukrainian Suspect in Lebanese Central Bank Probe

French Prosecutors Name Ukrainian Suspect in Lebanese Central Bank Probe

French prosecutors said on Monday they have put a Ukrainian woman linked to the governor of Lebanon's central bank under formal investigation as part of a cross-border probe into alleged fraud to the detriment of the Lebanese state. 
Anna Kosakova, with whom central bank governor Riad Salameh has a daughter, according to a birth certificate seen by Reuters, is suspected of aggravated money laundering, a spokesperson at the Paris office of the National Financial Prosecutors said. 

Kosakova, who was notified about the preliminary charges on June 14, had to hand over her passport and was ordered not to leave France, the spokesperson said, confirming a report by French online journal Mediapart. 

A lawyer for Kosakova said he and his client would "react very soon" to the French prosecutors' decisions. 

Salameh, who has not been named as a suspect by French prosecutors but who had some of his real estate assets in France seized as part of the investigation, did not respond to a message seeking comment. 

A French lawyer for Salameh, Pierre-Olivier Sur, said the June decision on Kosakova "doesn't change anything". He said they were waiting for a French court to hear their challenge of the property seizures. 

The French investigation is part of coordinated efforts by prosecutors in Lebanon, as well as in Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Lichtenstein to determine whether Salameh used his position at the central bank, known as Banque du Liban (BDL), to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds. 

Swiss authorities suspect Salameh, together with a brother, Raja Salameh, may have illegally taken more than $300 million from BDL between 2002 and 2015, laundering some of the money in Switzerland, according to Swiss court documents seen by Reuters. 

In an interview with Reuters in November last year, Riad Salameh denied any wrongdoing, saying no BDL or public Lebanese funds were diverted. A person close to Raja Salameh declined to comment. 

In Germany, prosecutors have said they were investigating the possibility that some of the funds identified by Swiss authorities were used to acquire real estate assets, notably in Munich. 

For their part, French prosecutors are trying to determine whether the Salameh brothers used some of those funds to acquire real estate in France, including part of a building on the Champs Elysees, according to people familiar with the investigation. 

In the interview with Reuters, Riad Salameh has said he bought real estate assets with his own money, earned when he worked as an investment banker. Questioned by French investigators last year about the acquisitions, Raja Salameh denied any wrongdoing. 

The Champs Elysees building has caught the attention of prosecutors in France as well as in Lebanon because, according to company records and lease contracts seen by Reuters, it houses a business center managed by Kosakova, part of which was rented by the Lebanese central bank. 
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×