Police deployed in front of the Crédit Libanais bank in Hazmieh on Nov. 2, 2022. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — A depositor who on Friday attempted to claim part of her blocked savings in a branch of the Societe Generale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) in Zahle, in the Bekaa, finally won her case, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.
Jihad Seif al-Din, the wife of a Lebanese General Security veteran, left the premises late Friday afternoon with $2,000. She is expected to return to the bank on Monday to collect another $3,000. She reportedly wanted to claim the money to pay the university fees of her son, a student in Ukraine.
Din stormed the bank's premises on Friday to claim part of her total balance of $50,000. It was not immediately clear whether she was armed.
Lebanese banks have imposed de facto capital controls since October 2019, leading to the recent phenomenon of bank holdups and forced withdrawals by customers illegally deprived of their assets.
Reporting contributed by Sarah Abdallah.