Bangladesh, Jan. 15 -- Lebanese judicial authorities have formally charged former central bank governor Riad Salame with embezzlement, forgery, and illicit enrichment in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of $44.8 million in public funds, marking a significant escalation in long-running legal efforts to hold senior financial officials accountable for Lebanons devastating economic collapse.

The indictment, issued nearly ten months after a Beirut court ordered that Salame be referred to trial, represents the most concrete legal action taken against the former Banque du Liban (BDL) chief inside Lebanon. Salame, 75, served as governor of the central bank for three decades, a tenure that spanned multiple political crises but ended ...