France’s Court of Appeal ruled in favor of a Syrian depositor residing in France against a case with the Lebanese Saradar Bank on Wednesday, regarding her frozen savings in the bank for the past three years.
The Syrian resident won her case since the French judicial system forced the bank to return her “three million” euros and additional funds in US dollars, which have been restricted due to Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis.
The ruling establishes a precedent that, despite Saradar Bank having no ties to France, the French legal system has the power to rule in favor of their foreign nationals, for their full deposits to be refunded by Lebanese banks.
This decision by the court reaffirms the case that took place in December 2021, where the French court ordered Saradar Bank to deposit $2.8 million in checks with a Beirut notary in order to pay a depositor.
This is not the first case where international courts intervened in the Lebanese banking system. Back in March, the British Court ordered Bank Audi SAL and Societe Generale De Banque Au Liban SAL (SGBL) to return a $4 million deposit to a British-Armenian businessman.
