[3][4] Riad Salameh left his position on 31 July 2023 upon the end of his term, and due to the Lebanese parliament’s failure in electing a new president and forming a new government capable of appointing a successor he was succeeded by his first deputy Wassim Mansouri in an acting capacity[5] He is the longest-serving central bank governor in the world.

[6] Although credited for maintaining the stability of the Lebanese pound until 2019,[7] Salameh has been accused of corruption, money laundering and running the largest Ponzi scheme in history; he was additionally labeled "the world’s worst central banker".

[12] His father Toufic Salameh owned the Cedars Hotel in Broummana, and his mother Raniah was a "well-known charitable activist" and Lebanese Red Cross member who was murdered in 1982.

[12] Salameh grew up in his grandfather's house in Antelias, and attended the Jesuits' Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour, followed by a bachelor's degree in economics from the American University of Beirut.

[21] On 1 July 2013, Salameh began a two-year term to co-chair the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Advisory Group for the Middle East and North Africa.

Following the 2019–20 Lebanese protests, the Banque du Liban deposits declined by $31bn in one year, and the loan portfolio of lenders fell by $18bn, thus putting the country in its first financial crisis in three decades.

The governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, who has benefitted from an aura of prestige during 30 years, often referred to as the "magician" of finance, was, since March 2020, associated with this financial crisis by several opinions pages, such as An-Nahar and Bloomberg.

"[37] In July 2020, a group of Lebanese lawyers formally accused Salameh of various crimes, including the embezzlement of central bank assets, and the mismanagement of public funds.

[38] On 20 July, Lebanese judge Faisal Makki ordered a protective freeze on some of Salameh's assets after ruling in favor of a complaint that he had allegedly undermined the financial standing of the state.

The inquiry is to audit the country's financial system and to verify whether political figures have used their position to override banking restrictions on foreign currency withdrawals and transfers of funds abroad.

[45] In October 2024, a judge in Mount Lebanon filed additional charges of illicit enrichment involving the renting of an apartment in France that was to be used as a substitute office for the Central Bank if necessary.

[46] In February 2022, a subpoena was issued by Judge Ghada Aoun after Riad Salameh failed to show up to court for questioning, while his whereabouts were unknown after a raid in his office and 2 homes, as part of an investigation for alleged misconduct and corruption.

The red notice is an international arrest warrant for Salameh for "money laundering, fraud and participation in a criminal association with a view to committing offences [...]", which was issued by a French judge on 16 May after "he failed to show up for a Paris court hearing".

[56] In August 2024, a Paris judicial court indicted Salameh's brother, Raja, on charges of embezzlement of public funds, aggravated breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.