Yahoo TV

STORY: 'Thief! Thief!' shouts a protester as the convoy of vehicles carrying the man who led the Central Bank for decades enters a Beirut courthouse.

Riad Salameh was for years celebrated as a financial wizard.

But on Monday he was ordered by a judge to remain in detention during an investigation into alleged financial crimes.

Salameh came under scrutiny after the catastrophic collapse of Lebanon's financial system in 2019, which plunged more than 80% of the population into poverty.

His three decades in charge of the central bank ended last year, his reputation in tatters.

He was arrested last week on charges that state media said included embezzlement, theft of public funds, forgery and illicit enrichment.

Salameh's media office has said he would not comment publicly on the case, in line with the law. He has denied previous corruption charges.

These charges sparked outrage from citizens whose funds were frozen in Lebanese banks.

A lawyer representing them said Salameh entering court in handcuffs was a relief for Lebanese people.

If Salameh faces prosecution, it would mark a rare case of a serving or retired senior Lebanese official facing accountability in a system critics say has long shielded the elite.

"Let them fall like dominoes," says this protester.

Judicial sources told Reuters Salameh was suspected of accruing more than $110 million through financial crimes using a Lebanese firm called Optimum Invest.

His office said in a statement he had cooperated in the past with more than 20 criminal probes and was cooperating with this investigation.

Several European countries including France and Germany have been investigating whether tens of millions of dollars of the funds allegedly embezzled from the central bank were laundered in Europe.