Bankers began repatriating funds transferred abroad from Lebanon during crisis: NNA

Bankers have started repatriating some of the funds that had been transferred outside the country during the crisis, in accordance with a decision made by the financial prosecutor's office, according to a correspondent from the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

According to NNA, the funds have been transferred to bank accounts that are now under the control of the financial prosecutor's office. Other accounts have also been opened to receive funds whose repatriation is expected.

The financial prosecutor behind the procedure, Judge Maher Cheaito, has not yet responded to our requests for comment. The secretary-general of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, Fadi Khalaf, said the association "was not aware" of the matter.

In August, the financial prosecutor made a historic decision, requiring individuals and legal entities — including bankers — to repatriate to Lebanese banks amounts equivalent to those transferred abroad during the economic crisis — or after Oct. 17, 2019 — and "in the same currency."

The funds were to be returned to the Lebanese banking system "within two months" — a deadline that has now passed, based on the time that has elapsed — and to be "under the supervision of the financial prosecutor's office and in accordance with the conditions it sets."

Billions of dollars are believed to have been transferred abroad between 2020 and 2023, although no exact figure is available, while most deposits remain illegally frozen in Lebanese banks to this day. Appointed financial prosecutor last July, Cheaito was tasked with reopening the case his predecessor, Ali Ibrahim, had set aside.