Lebanese lawmaker enters bank branch to demand frozen savings

Lebanese lawmaker enters bank branch to demand frozen savings

A Lebanese member of parliament entered a branch of Byblos Bank north of Beirut on Wednesday with a group of associates to demand access to her frozen savings to pay for surgery.

Cynthia Zarazir, a first-time parliamentarian who was elected in May to represent Beirut, entered the bank unarmed and demanded $8,500 in cash, she told Reuters.

"We've spent a few days going back and forth to the bank and bringing my (medical) reports and they don't answer us. I can't delay this any more. I came to take my money," Zarazir said by telephone from the bank.

"Today, I came as a regular citizen, not as an MP. I don't care what my colleagues in the parliament will think. I see right from wrong," she said.

Cases of bank hold-ups and protests have snowballed across Lebanon recently as depositors have grown exasperated over informal capital controls that banks have imposed since an economic downturn began in 2019.

Depositors can only withdraw limited amounts in U.S. dollars or the Lebanese pound, which has lost more than 95% of its value since the crisis began.

The bank branch shut down after Zarazir entered and a spokesperson for Byblos Bank at its headquarters was not immediately available for