A depositor holds a sit-in at Société Générale in Amioun, calling for the release of his deposits at the bank, on Nov. 23, 2022. (Courtesy of: Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — The Association of Depositors in Lebanon announced on Wednesday night that the unarmed depositor who held up a Bank Audi branch in Sour on Wednesday had managed negotiate a deal to retrieve $6,000 of his trapped savings, while another unarmed depositor who staged a sit-in in front of his bank in Amioun, a locality in Koura, North Lebanon, left the premises, following negotiations with members of the security forces, without retrieving any of his money, L'Orient Today's correspondents in these regions reported.
From north to south, three efforts by depositors to access their savings took place at Lebanese banks on Wednesday.
The Association of Depositors in Lebanon reported on Twitter that a depositor organized a sit-in in front of a branch of Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) in Amioun, a locality in Koura, North Lebanon. "Dr. Anis Tannous organized a sit-in in front of the Société Générale and prevented anyone from entering and leaving. He is demanding the transfer of his son's student loan to the United States," the association said yesterday.
According to our correspondent in North Lebanon, members of the security forces negotiated with Tannous, after which he left the premises without retrieving any of his savings.
According to a member of the Cry of the Depositors group, the unarmed man, who placed an olive tree in front of the door of the bank to prevent anyone from entering or exiting the establishment, has health problems and his deposits exceed $30,000. "The bank only allows him to withdraw LL5 million a month," the source added.
Meanwhile, depositor Reda Reda, who held up a branch of Bank Audi in Sour on Wednesday, negotiated a deal with the bank under which the bank on Thursday morning granted him $6,000 from his deposit to pay for treatment for his sick mother, according to the Association of Depositors and L'Orient Today's correspondent in South Lebanon.
The Association of Depositors said yesterday that Reda is "asking for money to take care of his mother who has cancer." L'Orient Today's correspondent in South Lebanon reported that the depositor is a former Lebanese Army soldier from the locality of Hanaway, a district of Sour, and that he was unarmed when he entered the bank branch.
Additional reporting by Muntasser Abdallah and Michel Hallak