Riad Salameh (Governor of Lebanon's central bank, Banque du Liban, 1993–2023) — statement to CNBC on the day he left office, 31 Jul 2023, rejecting blame for the financial collapse: "It is untrue to hold me directly and solely responsible," arguing exchange policy was set by successive governments, not the central bank.

It is untrue to hold me directly and solely responsible.

The exchange policies are determined by the government and [the Banque Du Liban] applies them in every government that was elected since 1993, their target was exchange stability.

[Source is English (CNBC, reporting his direct statement on the day he left office); tier-2, confirmed verbatim against the fetched page. NOTE: in the second sentence "[the Banque Du Liban]" is CNBC's EDITORIAL bracket clarifying that he was referring to the central bank — it is the outlet's insertion, not Salameh's exact word; the rest of both sentences is his verbatim quote as published.] Self-defense / declared position of Riad Salameh — Governor of Lebanon's central bank (Banque du Liban) from 1993 until 30 July 2023, who served under 12 prime ministers and was once feted as a financial wizard but is now widely blamed for the country's catastrophic financial collapse (the Lebanese pound lost ~100% of its value; system-wide losses estimated at ~$70 billion; the savings of generations wiped out). He faces international arrest warrants and fraud/embezzlement allegations in several European countries. On the day he stepped down (31 July 2023) he REJECTED responsibility for the collapse — "It is untrue to hold me directly and solely responsible" — and argued that exchange-rate policy is set by the GOVERNMENT, not the central bank: that the BdL merely "applies" the policies of every elected government since 1993, whose "target was exchange stability," thereby deflecting blame onto Lebanon's political class. (Critics, including a former BdL vice-governor, counter that he ran a "Ponzi scheme" propping up an overvalued pound via borrowing from banks funded by expatriate deposits.) This captures a distinct dimension in the dataset: the FINANCIAL-ESTABLISHMENT / TECHNOCRATIC self-defense and the politics of ELITE IMPUNITY — the unaccountable institutional insider attributing systemic catastrophe to others. He left office to cheering loyalists with no authority holding him to account, illustrating (as opposition figures noted) a ruling class that "undermined" accountability. [Axes: economic (monetary / exchange-rate management; the currency peg; financial-system governance), governance / accountability (institutional impunity; responsibility for systemic failure; corruption allegations), regime-stance (a pillar of the post-civil-war sectarian establishment).]