French lawyer and human rights advocate William Bourdon, founder of the Sherpa association, has confirmed that criminal investigations have been launched against Bank Audi France and the Richelieu Group, entities linked to Lebanese-French banker Antoun Sehnaoui, over alleged financial misconduct tied to Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis.
The investigations, which Bourdon disclosed in a public statement on April 18, 2026, stem from complaints filed by Sherpa alleging that the institutions facilitated illicit financial flows and violated anti-money laundering regulations by enabling the transfer of assets out of Lebanon during the country’s severe banking collapse that began in 2019.
According to Bourdon, the complaints specifically target the role of Bank Audi France — the Paris-based subsidiary of Lebanon’s Bank Audi — and the Richelieu Group, a financial holding company chaired by Sehnaoui, in moving funds abroad while restricting access to deposits for Lebanese citizens within the country.
“These are not isolated incidents but part of a systemic pattern where financial institutions, leveraging their international networks, have enabled the externalization of capital at the expense of domestic depositors,” Bourdon said in an interview with Mediapart, which first reported the development on April 19, 2026.
Sherpa, a French nonprofit specializing in corporate accountability and transnational financial crime, filed the complaints with the Parquet National Financier (PNF), France’s national financial prosecutor’s office, which has jurisdiction over complex economic and financial offenses.
The PNF confirmed receipt of the complaints but declined to disclose further details, citing the confidentiality of ongoing preliminary investigations. A spokesperson for the agency stated only that the complaints are under review and that no formal charges have been filed as of April 2026.
Bank Audi France, headquartered in Paris, has not publicly responded to the allegations. The Richelieu Group, which oversees investments in real estate, energy, and financial services across Europe and the Middle East, also did not issue a statement by the time of publication.
Antoun Sehnaoui, a prominent figure in Lebanese-French business circles, has served as chairman of the Richelieu Group and previously held leadership roles at Bank Audi Lebanon. He has not been named directly in the complaints, though the institutions under scrutiny are closely associated with his professional activities.
The developments come amid heightened scrutiny of Lebanese banks and their international affiliates following the 2019 financial crisis, which saw the Lebanese pound lose over 90% of its value and led to widespread freezing of foreign currency deposits. International financial watchdogs, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), have previously cited deficiencies in Lebanon’s regulatory framework that may have enabled illicit financial flows.
In 2023, a report by the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Tax Matters highlighted concerns about the use of offshore structures by Lebanese financial actors to move assets abroad, noting that several European subsidiaries of Lebanese banks had come under regulatory review in France, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.
Sherpa’s complaints add to a growing body of legal actions targeting financial institutions linked to Lebanon’s economic downturn. In 2022, a separate complaint was filed against Banque du Liban, the country’s central bank, alleging complicity in illicit enrichment during the crisis, though that case remains in preliminary stages.
As of April 2026, no trial dates have been set, and the PNF has not indicated whether it will open a full judicial investigation. Legal experts note that the preliminary phase can last several months, during which prosecutors assess whether sufficient evidence exists to proceed.
For Bourdon and Sherpa, the filings represent part of a broader strategy to hold financial institutions accountable for actions that exacerbate national economic crises, particularly when international subsidiaries are used to circumvent domestic restrictions.