On Sunday, Lebanon’s Deputy Prime Minister, Saadeh Al Shami, said that the Lebanese state and Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL) are bankrupt.
During a televised interview, the Deputy Prime Minister highlighted that the losses will be distributed between the Lebanese state, Lebanon’s Central bank, and banks’ depositors.
Adding that “unfortunately the state is bankrupt as well as the bank of Lebanon, and we want to come up with a result, and the loss has been caused by policies for decades, and, if we do not do something, the loss will be much greater.”
“There is a truth that cannot be ignored, we cannot live in denial, we cannot open withdrawals to all people, and I wish we were in a normal state.”
However, the Lebanese Central Bank (BDL) has not officially announced bankruptcy, and official authorities have denied it, claiming that what is being circulated is incorrect and taken out of context.
In 2019, Lebanon’s economy faced a harsh meltdown, leading to many Lebanese sectors facing a total breakdown.
Inevitably, the country’s banking system also collapsed, leaving depositors locked out of their accounts.
Banks imposed an informal capital control, severely impacting the Lebanese people whose survival depends on their now-stuck lifesaving in the banks.
Countless depositors continue to protest for their rightful access to their funds, which, the Deputy Prime Minister now says, will be part of “saving” Lebanon from a greater loss.
The Central Bank of Lebanon has come under the spotlight recently when investigations by the French authorities revealed that its governor, Riad Salameh, has used millions in funds from the Central Bank for personal use in France.
