Antoun Sehnaoui

In April 2026, French prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into Bank Audi France and Banque Richelieu France over the alleged illegal transfer of funds out of Lebanon during the country's financial collapse. Investigators are examining allegations of money laundering, breach of trust, handling of stolen goods and criminal conspiracy.

The probe followed two complaints filed in mid-2025 by the Collective of Victims of Fraudulent and Criminal Practices in Lebanon and the French anti-corruption NGO Sherpa, building on a joint investigation by OCCRP and Lebanese outlet Daraj that alleged SGBL facilitated capital flight and preferential treatment for elite clients while capital controls barred ordinary depositors from accessing their own savings.

Sehnaoui separately faces a US civil lawsuit against SGBL that alleges money laundering and links to Hezbollah. It is a civil claim, not a criminal charge, and he has publicly disputed it.

In mid-2026, a group of Lebanese lawyers filed a separate civil suit against Sehnaoui after a reported meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which they called "highly disgraceful." That matter is a political and civil controversy distinct from the French financial-crimes investigation and is noted here only for completeness, not as part of the corruption case.