Fransabank Assets Seized, Operations Stop after Lawsuit by Depositor

Lebanese authorities on Wednesday seized the assets of Fransabank, one of the country’s biggest banks, based on an order issued by Judge Mariana Anani, the head of the Enforcement Department in Beirut.

The order followed a lawsuit filed by the depositor Ayyad Gherbawi Ibrahim who requested that he be paid his money in banknotes and not through a check.

Al-Jadeed TV said all the assets of the bank at the Hamra and Sassine branches were seized on Wednesday, as all monetary operations were suspended and safes and registers were sealed with red wax.

The assets would be auctioned should the bank fail to pay the depositor his money, the TV network added.

The United for Lebanon activist group and the Depositors Outcry Association meanwhile issued a statement saying that the judge’s order targets all of Fransabank’s branches in Lebanon.

In a statement issued later on Wednesday, the bank announced that it will abide by Judge Anani's order and apologized to its clients for "not being able to fulfill their needs, especially the payment of the salaries of public sector employees and other employees."

It also noted that the depositor who filed the lawsuit "had closed his account and fully recovered his deposit."

The United for Lebanon activist group later responded to Fransabank's statement and said the judge's decision does not target funds related to salaries and pensions.