After being accused, the Lebanese banker transferred the real estate holdings of the United Kingdom to Brother

While the French authorities pursued money laundering against him, Lebanese banker Marwan Kheireddine silently moved his assets out of reach, changing the control of his real estate empire from the United Kingdom of $ 200 million to his brother, reporters of the Lebanese partner of ECCCRP, DaraJ, discovered.

Kheireddine was a nearby associate of the former governor of the Central Bank Riad Salame, who was once praised to maintain the financial stability of Lebanon, but then faced accusations of embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds.

European prosecutors have linked Salame with a vast money laundering network, with investigations in France, Germany and Switzerland claiming that he and his associates channeled illegal wealth through accounts on the high seas and luxury properties. Salame denies that irregular ones, claiming that the charges are politically motivated.

The properties of one of those associates, Kheireddine, are distributed in some of the most exclusive districts in London and are valued at more than $ 200 million. Previously they were held through a network of companies on the high seas, but the documents analyzed by Daraj show that by July 1, 2023, four months after his accusation, Kheireddine was eliminated as a beneficiary of at least 15 entities of this type .

For more than a decade, the Kheireddine family has controlled significant real estate in the United Kingdom, including Aldford House, a luxury apartments block in Mayfair, acquired in 2012 for £ 86 million (approximately $ 158 million today). At the time of purchase, its new owner, K Group Holding Inc., was jointly controlled by Marwan and his brother, Wassim Kheireddine.

The Kheireddines also had main real estate properties in other high -value locations, including nine elms, with a view to the Thames river, and Danesfield House, a historical field of field in Buckinghamshire, bought in 2004 for £ 22 million. These properties, together with others, were owned by Panama headquarters with headquarters, protecting them from scrutiny.

In April 2023, French prosecutors interrogated Kheireddine in relation to a current corruption investigation into Riad Salame, the former governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon. The authorities confiscated the devices and Kheireddine’s passport, restricting him to leave France.

Salame, who led the Central Bank of Lebanon for 30 years, is accused of embezzlement hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds, with European prosecutors who draw at least $ 150 million in their accounts in Bank al-Mawarid, a bank owned by the KHEIREDDINE FAMILY.

Sherpa, the French NGO who filed a criminal complaint against Salame and his associates, told Daraj that the evidence pointed to Kheireddine playing a “central role in the conspiracy.”

Despite telling researchers in April 2023 that his brother Wassim had administered his businesses in London since 2018, corporate records showed that Marwan remained a beneficial owner of multiple offshore companies linked to these properties.

On July 1, 2023, only a few months after being held in Paris, Marwan was eliminated as the beneficial owner of at least 15 companies on the high seas, including those that control Aldford House and Danesfield House.

“An important approach to this research is to trace the illegal wealth and guarantee its restitution to the Lebanese people,” said Chanez Mensoous, Sherpa Defense and Litigation Manager.

When asked about the moment of transfer of shares in the Panamanian companies to his brother, Marwan Kheireddine told Daraj that it was part of “the family management management that began in 2012 and was completed in 2023, not related With the French procedure. ” He did not provide evidence to support this claim.

Regarding French research, Kheireddine emphasized that “he addresses Riad Salame and his close and family associates, not me.” He also pointed out that “none of my assets was frozen anywhere in the world at any time.”

Kheireddine denied having hidden the assets through Panaman companies, explaining that Panama offers favorable rates for “legal vehicles that have an asset”, which his family uses for their real estate holdings. He said that “each of those companies must be registered in the company’s house in the United Kingdom, declaring the beneficial final.”

While it is true that the beneficial owners of offshore companies that buy or sell land in the United Kingdom must be registered in the Business House, this requirement only began in 2022 under the Law of Economic Crimes (Transparency and Application), which established The registration of foreign entities for “”expel the dirty money from the United Kingdom. “