Wave of Lebanon bank ‘heists’ to seize back frozen savings

Wave of Lebanon bank ‘heists’ to seize back frozen savings

GHAZIYEH, Lebanon: Five Lebanese banks were held up by depositors seeking access to their own money frozen in the banking system on Friday in a spiralling spate of holdups this week spurred by frustration over a financial implosion with no end in sight. A total of seven banks have been held up since Wednesday in Lebanon, where commercial banks have locked most depositors out of their savings since an economic crisis took hold three years ago, leaving much of the population unable to pay for basics. On Friday morning, an armed man identified as Abed Soubra entered BLOM Bank in the capital’s Tariq Jdideh neighbourhood demanding his deposit, the bank told Reuters. He was still locked in the branch hours later, telling Reuters by phone that he had handed over his gun to security forces and just wanted his money. “I’ll stay here three, four, five days - I won’t move until I get my deposit,” he said. Soubra said he had a refused an offer by the bank to take a portion of his $300,000 in savings with a significant haircut and in the deteriorating local Lebanese currency. “I deposited by money in dollars, I want them back in