BEIRUT: The governor of Lebanon’s central bank, Karim Souaid, took office on Friday, pledging to advance key reforms demanded by international creditors to unlock bailout funds as the country reels from a years-long financial crisis.

Souaid, an asset manager who had worked at major banks and was appointed to the top role on March 27, replaced an interim governor who had taken over from embattled three-decade chief Riad Salameh nearly two years ago. Speaking at a press conference on his first day on the job, Souaid said: “The Banque du Liban will cooperate with states and international organizations... to implement international conventions and treaties, primarily the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.” Lebanon’s economic crash since 2019 has seen the Lebanese pound lose most of its value against the US dollar and pushed much of the population into poverty, with ordinary people locked out of their savings.

Powerful Iran-backed group Hezbollah, sanctioned by the United States, has been accused of using parallel economic networks to finance its activities. The new governor said that “work must be done to gradually return all bank deposits, starting with small savers as a priority”. Financial institutions including the central bank “and the Lebanese state must assume their responsibilities” in this matter, Souaid said.

He succeeded interim governor Wassim Mansouri, who took over after Salameh—blamed for the national currency’s collapse—left office in July 2023 without a successor. Salameh, who served as governor for three decades, was arrested in September on multiple charges including embezzlement and money laundering, of which he denies. Souaid, without specifying which issues he was referring to, said that the central bank must “allow the conclusion of any criminal investigation already initiated” to uncover “any abuse or misappropriation of funds, reserves, or public money and punish those responsible.” — AFP