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Depositor retrieves savings by force from Lebanon bank in Beirut

October 3, 2022 at 1:55 pm

Lebanese banks resume operations on Monday after a week-long closure in protest of holdups by depositors demanding access to their savings in Beirut, Lebanon on September 26, 2022 [Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu Agency]

A Lebanese depositor withdrew his savings by force from a bank in Beirut on Monday, according to a banking association, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The Association of Depositors said, on Twitter, that the depositor stormed a Blom Bank branch in Haret Hreik in the southern suburb of Beirut and “retrieved his savings”.

Lebanon is one long tale of disaster and crisis - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Lebanon is one long tale of disaster and crisis – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

The Association shared a video of the bank holdup on its Twitter page.

The Depositors’ Outcry NGO, for its part, said the depositor, who was identified as Zahir Khawaja, recovered $11,750 from his bank account.

At least eight storming attempts were reported in Lebanon last month, during which depositors managed to recover amounts from their frozen funds.

The incidents pushed the banks to close their doors for several days to protest the hold-ups.

Lebanon has been grappling with a severe economic crisis since 2019, leaving most people locked out of their bank accounts.

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