Hassan Moghnieh, President of the Lebanese Depositors Association, confirmed that he will organize a street movement in Lebanon immediately after the end of the general lockdown imposed due to the spread of the coronavirus.
In an interview with the Lebanese website "Al-Nashra," Moghnieh explained that the association was already planning to organize a "large" movement on the 22nd of this month. However, given the current health conditions, the rising number of coronavirus cases, and the government's decision on the general lockdown with the possibility of extension, the association refrained from setting a new date. Moghnieh pointed out the significant confusion among the state, the Central Bank of Lebanon, and the Association of Banks regarding the issue of depositors, especially after a year and four months of numerous discussions and meetings that have not yielded results.
Moghnieh rejected dragging depositors into political disputes and settling accounts between parties, saying, "Linking the fate of deposits to the issue of forensic auditing and accountability is completely unacceptable to us; deposits must be returned, and the auditing process should continue."
He revealed that some banks are selling checks for amounts of one million dollars and above through intermediaries and currency traders for 39% of their value, noting that delivery occurs outside Lebanon, specifically in Dubai. He explained that if an account holder has one million dollars, they receive 390,000 dollars in cash abroad, and their account is closed, indicating that the bank profits 610,000 dollars, thus reducing its debts.
The President of the Lebanese Depositors Association emphasized that the movement is still going ahead, stating that as soon as the lockdown concludes, the association will evaluate the situation to determine a date for gathering, which will be highly pressuring. He called on every Lebanese whose funds have been withheld to participate, saying, "Experiences have proven that no sect, party, or leader will come to us for our rights, and I tell everyone to wait for us in the streets."
It is noteworthy that the Parliament had previously decided that the accounts of the Central Bank of Lebanon, ministries, independent entities, councils, funds, and public institutions are to be subjected to forensic auditing concurrently without any obstacle or pretext of banking secrecy or the like.
