Depositors group Mouttahidoun protest in front of Parliament, Dec. 12, 2022. (Courtesy of: Rami Ollaik)
BEIRUT — The Mouttahidoun depositors group held a sit-in Monday in front of Parliament during a joint parliamentary committee session to discuss a capital control draft law to which the group objects in its current form.
The parliamentary committees have been discussing the capital control law since more than two years ago but are yet to approve it.
Speaking at the sit-in, the head of Mouttahidoun ("United" in Arabic) Rami Ollaik called on the "syndicates, the parties and independent MPs to cooperate with each other to rebuild this country in which we all should partner against corruption."
Ollaik also said that his group is against Article 12 of the draft law, "which removes the authority of the judiciary to rule on the disputes with the banks."
"We also demand the restoration of the money that was transferred abroad, which would be implementing a fair and correct capital control," Ollaik also said.
Billions of dollars have been reportedly transferred abroad since Oct. 2019, allegedly by politically-connected people, while banks imposed illegal restrictions on most of their customers' deposits.
The capital control law is one of many reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund that are yet to be approved by Parliament, in return for a cash assistance package.