Episode 86 - Riad Salameh

The Lebanese Politics Podcast

Biography and discussion of Riad Salameh begins at 22:30. Ben and Nizar are back with the news of past week, including the concerning spike in coronavirus case numbers ahead of touted new measures to contain the virus, political chatter on Lebanon's neutrality, the lira's continuing volatility, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's visit, and a decision to conduct a forensic audit of Banque du Liban (BDL). Our main topic this week, on the back of an FT scoop that $6bn of "other assets" on BDL's balance sheet were the result of “seignorage on financial stability” whose value was determined by Governor Riad Salameh, is the man himself. We take a look at Salameh from his private sector work, through his 27-year tenure as BDL governor, to the controversies surrounding him and his financial engineering policies today. Links referenced: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07BEIRUT794_a.html https://www.ft.com/content/d2d63b9b-9669-4ec0-93e9-ed97cbeb9261 Music track: Zuhal by Elepheel, check out his other work @elepheel