Security forces deployed outside Al Baraka Bank in Hamra on Oct. 21, 2022. (Credit: Sent to L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A man stormed the Al Baraka Bank in Hamra, Beirut, on Monday, demanding to obtain his mother's saving, a source present at the scene confirmed to L'Orient Today. According to the group the Cry of the Depositors on Twitter, the man, identified as Hussein Ramadan, was accompanied by his mother when he entered the bank.
In a video shared by the Cry of the Depositors, a man could be heard complaining about how the Al Baraka Bank might be closing tomorrow.
The same source present at the scene told L'Orient Today, citing members of the Cry of the Depositors also present at the bank, that the man and his mother were unarmed and that Ramadan has the authority to withdraw his mother's money. The source also said that security forces were deployed in front of the bank.
A video shared by the Cry of the Depositors shows a number of people trying to infiltrate the bank before being prevented by security forces.
عاجل اشكال امام بنك البركة الحمرا pic.twitter.com/I4j2oXHl5t
— جمعية صرخة المودعين (@sarkhitmoudiin) November 21, 2022
$132,000
According to a source from the Cry of the Depositors, contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Ramadan was evacuated from the premises by the police in the afternoon without being able to withdraw his mother's savings. According to this source, the mother's total savings amount to $132,000.
Around 4:30 p.m., the Cry of the Depositors announced on Twitter that an agreement had been reached between the bank and the depositor, Amira Bitar, for her to receive the sum of $15,000 in cash out of the total amount of $132,000. Aaround 5 p.m., she left the bank without use of force, eyewitnesses said.
Over the weekend, the Higher Banking Commission decided to appoint temporary administrators for three banks, including the Bahreini group Al Baraka Bank, with the mission of developing a financial plan aimed at restoring their operations and cleaning up their management.
Last month, two depositors accompanied by two accomplices, including activist and lawyer Rami Ollaik, a member of the Cry of the Depositors, held up the Credit Libanais bank branch in Hazmieh, succeeding in withdrawing a portion of the depositors' money before being arrested and detained for several days.