Depositors queuing outside a Fransabank branch, Sept. 26, 2022. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
An armed depositor held up a Fransabank branch in Zgharta, northern Lebanon demanding his money on Monday morning, a security source and eyewitnesses told L'Orient Today.
The robbery failed, however, as security forces managed to arrest the depositor and confiscate his weapon. According to our correspondent, this is the second time this man has stormed the same bank to recover his funds.
In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, Fransabank confirmed the depositor's incursion into its establishment, claiming however that his account had already been "closed."
"The armed man was expelled in a peaceful manner," the statement said.
Lebanese banks have been imposing illegal restrictions on withdrawals since the start of the economic crisis in 2019. Numerous bank robberies organized by depositors have taken place in Lebanon in recent months.