Lebanon: Barrage of bank robberies to take their deposits

Disturbance prevails in Lebanonas barrages are noted robberies in many banks across the country, as the recent economic disaster has brought much of society to its knees.

In particular, the Lebanese pound has fallen since 2019 and since then there has been a withdrawal limit of 800 dollars per month. Thus, many citizens rob banks, while in several cases they only withdraw the money they had deposited before the financial crisis and now have no legal access. Nevertheless, there are also cases where they do not limit themselves and take the money of their fellow citizens.

As reported by the French Agency, in the last 48 hours, seven banks were targeted by “robbers”. As these incidents multiply, the Minister of the Interior called an emergency meeting of the security services to “take the necessary measures”.

The Association of Lebanese Banks (ABL) also called an emergency meeting and ordered the closure of all branches for three days next week.

Three kilometers away, in the Ramlet al-Baida district, a man armed with a shotgun broke into the Lebanon & Gulf Bank branch while in the south of the city, a young man, armed with a fake pistol, said he managed to withdraw $20,000.

In Schim, in the south, a retired soldier held six people hostage, including the bank manager, who offered to give him $100,000, according to some media reports. He refused, demanding to be paid the full amount of his deposits, i.e. double. Shots were heard.

In August, a depositor was mobbed after he stormed a Beirut bank and, gun in hand, demanded his savings of more than €200,000 to pay for his father’s hospital bills . The bank agreed to give him around 30,000 euros and he handed himself over to the police. He was not prosecuted.