Depositors storm 4 Lebanese banks, demanding their own money

As the severe economic crisis in the small Mediterranean country continues to worsen, more and more Lebanese savers are opting to break into banks and forcibly withdraw their trapped savings.

Cash-strapped banks in Lebanon have imposed informal restrictions on cash withdrawals. The break-ins reflect growing public anger at banks and authorities that have been trying to reform the country’s corrupt and battered economy. Three-quarters of the population has been pushed into poverty in what the World Bank describes as one of the worst economic crises in more than a century.

Lebanese security personnel stand at the entrance of the Byblos Bank branch, which was broken into by depositor Ali Hodroj with a pistol, fired at the warning and demanded to withdraw his trapped bank account, in Tyre, southern Lebanon, Tuesday, 4 October. 000 savings​​. 2022. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound has lost 90% of its value against the dollar, leaving millions across the country struggling to cope with skyrocketing prices.Ali al-Sahli, a retired military officer who served in the Lebanese Internal Security Forces, raided the BLC Bank branch in the eastern town of Chtaura, demanding that $24,000 in trapped savings be transferred to his son, who owes rent and school fees Ukraine“Count the money before one of you dies,” al-Sahli said in a video he recorded with one hand, wielding a gun with the other.

According to the protest group Depositors Protest, Sahli said he had offered to sell his kidneys to pay for his son’s expenses after banks blocked him from transferring funds for months. The retired military officer turned to protest groups for help as his son owed several months rent and school fees. In the video he captured on his phone, al-Sahli brandished a pistol and threatened to shoot if bank employees didn’t comply. Protesters and bystanders from depositors’ groups watched from the outside, as employees worked to calm him down. Al-Sahli was unable to retrieve any of his money, and security forces arrested him.

In the southern city of Tyre, Ali Hodroj broke into a branch of Byblos Bank and demanded that about $40,000 be withdrawn from his trapped savings to pay off an outstanding loan. He was armed with a pistol and fired warning shots as security forces surrounded the area.

On Tuesday, in Tyre, southern Lebanon, an intelligence officer took a photo with his mobile phone at the entrance of the Byblos Bank branch, which was broken into by Ali Hodroj armed with a pistol, fired warning shots and demanded about $40,000 ‘s Trapped Savings, October 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Hodroj recovered about $9,000 in Lebanese pounds after negotiations with the head of a depositors’ rights group.

Hassan Moghnieh, head of the Lebanese Depositors Association, told The Associated Press that Hodroj’s family retrieved the money before he turned himself in to police outside the branch. In Hazmiyeh, near the Lebanese capital, George Siam, the former Lebanese ambassador to Turkey, entered an intercontinental bank in Lebanon, demanding some of his locked-up savings. Branch employees closed their doors as Siam continued to negotiate with management.

In the northern city of Tripoli, workers from the Qadisha Electricity Co. broke into a local First National Bank branch to protest the bank’s deductions from delayed wages. The Lebanese Army arrived at the scene in Tripoli and patrolled the area.

Some depositor protest groups, including Depositors’ Protest, have supported the break-in and have vowed to continue doing so. “We are sending a message to the banks that their security measures will not stop depositors because they are struggling,” Moussa Agassi, the depositors protest media coordinator, told The Associated Press. “We’re trying to tell bank owners to try and find a solution, and tougher security doesn’t keep them safe.”

Lebanese parliament member Cynthia Zarazir enters a Byblos bank branch to seek her savings, standing inside a bank in Antellas, Lebanon, October 5, 2022.REUTERS/Mohammad Azakir

The public praised angry savers, some even hailing them as heroes, most notably Sally Hafez, who stormed a bank branch in Beirut with a fake pistol and a petrol can, taking some $13,000 to finance her23 old sister cancer treat. Siam was one of those who praised her. “We need more of this stuff,” he said in a tweet last month. “This lady is a hero. God bless her.”

However, the bank condemned the robbery and urged the Lebanese government to provide security personnel. The Lebanese Association of Banks said in a statement on Tuesday that the government was primarily responsible for the financial crisis and that banks had been unjustly targeted. The banks in the statement urged the government to implement reforms quickly and reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package.

ABL closed for a week in late September after at least seven savers stormed the branch citing security concerns and forcibly took their stranded savings. The banks partially reopened a handful of branches last week, welcoming only business customers by appointment into their premises.

Meanwhile, Lebanon has been working to restructure its financial sector and economy to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund on a bailout. The IMF criticized Lebanese officials for slow progress.