The main entrance to Fenicia Bank headquarters in downtown Beirut, Feb. 8, 2024. (Credit: PHB)
BEIRUT — A depositor broke into a branch of Fenicia Bank in Aabbassiyeh, Sour district, on Thursday morning in an attempt to forcefully retrieve his blocked funds, only to leave empty-handed a few hours later, reports a security source quoted by our correspondent in the south, Muntasser Abdallah.
Accompanied by his mother, the depositor burst into the bank and demanded his savings. According to a witness, the man, who was "from the al-Ajami family, entered with cans of petrol, closed the bank doors and made threats in case his savings were not paid to him."
The Internal Security Forces, the Lebanese Army and the Civil Defense were deployed at the entrances of the bank. In the afternoon, "the man left the bank and got nothing from his savings," according to the aforementioned security source.
Beneficiary of circular no. 158
The bank's spokesperson told L'Orient Today that the depositor had contacted the bank to take the necessary steps to benefit from Banque du Liban circular no. 158, which allows eligible beneficiaries to withdraw $400 "fresh" per month under specific conditions. The man was due to sign the necessary documents today, in order to be able to benefit from these foreign currency withdrawals at a later date.
Banks have been imposing restrictions on their customers since Lebanon's economic crisis began in 2019, limiting withdrawals and transfers. Since then, the country has seen a wave of bank robberies in which depositors, sometimes armed with either fake or real weapons, burst into bank branches, demanding their own funds.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.