The Court of Appeal in Paris will rule on January 15 regarding the role of the former governor of the Central Bank of Syria (CBS), Adib Mayaleh, as a potential financier through his position for crimes attributed to the Syrian regime during the war from 2011 to 2017.
The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office suspects that Adib Mayaleh, in his capacity as the governor of the Central Bank, funded a regime accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Despite these ongoing accusations, Mayaleh was placed in a witness position last May, and he could no longer be prosecuted. However, this decision was appealed, and a hearing was held yesterday, Wednesday, before the investigating chamber, which will decide on January 15 whether he will retain his status as an assisting witness.
According to what the Justice Info website conveyed from France Presse, Mayaleh’s lawyer, Emmanuel Marsigny, declined to comment on the case.
The investigating judge specialized in the human rights crimes section of the Paris judicial court believes there are serious or established indications to prosecute Adib Mayaleh. However, at that time, the judge dismissed the charge and placed him in the position of a medium assisting witness.
According to a source close to the case, the court requested the investigating judge to continue its investigations, particularly by requesting to listen to witnesses, who are former members of the regime, Syrian government employees, journalists, and experts.
Adib Mayaleh served as the governor of the Central Bank of Syria from 2005 to 2016, and then as Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade until 2017. He is the only person involved in this judicial investigation.
He filed a request to nullify the trial last June, arguing that he could not be prosecuted under functional immunity, but the appeals court rejected this request.
In the courthouses
Last June, the French national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office appealed to the Paris judicial court following the dismissal of charges against the former governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Adib Mayaleh, concerning financing battles in Syria.
Mayaleh, who holds both French and Syrian nationality, is suspected of financing the Syrian regime accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The website L’Orient-Le Jour reported on June 5 from private sources that Mayaleh, who resides in France, has been charged with complicity in the crimes attributed to the Syrian regime.
He has also faced charges of money laundering and involvement in established conspiracies and was placed under judicial supervision.
Mayaleh obtained French citizenship in 1993 and changed his name to André Mayard, according to the site.