France has opened an investigation into the personal wealth of the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, in crisis-hit Lebanon, sources told AFP Sunday.

A source close to the investigation and a judicial source said Paris financial prosecutors have opened a preliminary probe into criminal association and money laundering by Salameh, following a similar move by Switzerland.

Its findings could highlight the origins of the 70-year-old former Merill Lynch banker’s wealth.

Salameh, once hailed by political and business leaders, has been repeatedly indicted by the government of caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab of being responsible for the collapse of the Lebanese pound.

The Lebanese public suspect him along with other high officials of transferring money abroad during a 2019 uprising, when people were banned from doing so.

Lebanon has since been hit by an unprecedented economic crisis which the World Bank says is one of the worst anywhere since the 19th century.

Salameh, who is close to the powerful Hariri family, has been under probe for months in Switzerland on suspicion of serious money laundering and embezzlement from the Bank of Lebanon.

He also owns several properties in France and may have transferred money via the country.

One of the criminal complaints that encouraged French prosecutors to get involved came from Swiss foundation Accountability Now, daily Le Monde reported.

Another was filed by anti-financial crime group Sherpa and by the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon, set up by savers devastated by the post-2019 crisis.

The French move arises the beginning of “a universal mega-investigation across Europe”, said William Bourdon and Amelie Lefebvre, lawyers for Sherpa and the savers’ collective.

“Huge money laundering operations will be examined, which ought to open every nook and cranny of the mafia that has brought Lebanon to its knees,” they hope.

France’s criminal complaint, seen by AFP, accuses Salameh and his brother Raja, his son Nadi, a nephew and an aide at the central bank — of fraudulently building a vast fortune in Europe.

The groups urge the judiciary to probe massive capital flight from Lebanon since the crisis began, as well as property purchases out of all proportion to the buyers’ income and the roles played by financial intermediaries, tax havens and strawmen.

Based especially on reports by Lebanese website Daraj.com and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, the plaintiffs believe that Salameh’s worldwide total wealth amounts to more than $2 billion.

He contests that figure, saying his holdings stem from inheritances, his banking career and legitimate investments since taking office in 1993.