Lebanon banks ‘trapping’ state salaries: minister

Lebanon banks ‘trapping’ state salaries: minister

Author: AFPID: 1577211019589989300Tue, 2019-12-24 16:07

BEIRUT: Lebanon's caretaker finance minister accused the country's banks on Tuesday of "trapping“ civil servants' salaries with withdrawal limits that have fueled public anger in the crisis-stricken country.

"What is happening in some Lebanese banks is unacceptable,“ Ali Hassan Khalil wrote on Twitter.

"They are trapping the salaries of (state) employees that are transferred by the finance ministry every month.“

Rocked by two months of anti-government protests and a political deadlock, Lebanon is also facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

A liquidity crunch has pushed Lebanese banks to impose capital controls on dollar accounts, capping withdrawals at around $1,000 a month. Some have imposed even tighter restrictions.

Some have also capped weekly withdrawals of the Lebanese pound at one million “” the equivalent of $660 at official rates “” even as the currency has plunged by nearly a third against the dollar on the black market in recent weeks.

The tightening controls have prompted public uproar, with many accusing banks of robbing them of their savings.

On Tuesday, Khalil said it was a "sacred right“ of civil servants to be paid in full and on time.

"It is not permissible for this right to be violated,“ he said, vowing legal action to