Lebanese judge lifts travel ban for central bank governor

By ABBY SEWELL
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese judge has rescinded a travel ban she had placed on the country’s embattled central bank governor, clearing the way for him to travel to Paris for a scheduled hearing with French prosecutors next month. Judge Ghada Aoun lifted the ban against Riad Salameh on Thursday, after she issued it in January 2022. She had imposed the measure against the backdrop of a lawsuit accusing the governor of embezzlement and dereliction of duty during the country’s financial meltdown. The ban could have prevented Salameh from traveling to Paris to appear at a scheduled hearing on May 16 before French prosecutors, who have opened their own investigation into alleged money laundering involving the governor.