Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Wednesday, July 9, 2025
    961
    Instagram Facebook LinkedIn TikTok
    • Breaking News
    • Guides
    • Food & Drink
    • Listicles
    • Join the Team
    • Whatsapp
      • 961
      • 961 News
    Advertise with Us Get the App
    961
    Home»News»Lebanon News
    Nahar Net
    3 Mins Read

    Lebanese Bank ‘Vigilante’ Says He Will Do It Again If He Doesn’t Get His Full Deposit

    By Signe JacobsenAugust 19, 2022
    Facebook WhatsApp Copy Link

    Depositor Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein took several bank employees hostage at Federal Bank in Hamra on August 11th. 

    At a press conference for The Cry of Depositors Association on Thursday, he said that he will begin negotiations with the bank and resort to the judiciary to withdraw his money, and otherwise, he “will do it again.”

    The remainder of his deposit is valued at $137.000. He states that he needed the money to pay for his father’s medical bills.

    According to Banque du Liban Circular No. 158, Lebanese banks should release $400 monthly to depositors. Hussein said the bank had failed for months to give him the amount. On August 11th, he went to the bank again to retrieve the money, but the manager refused to pay him the amount.

    “I asked for money, he said there’s no money. Every month I come in, he kicks me out,” Hussein told local news. 

    Hussein went to his car, brought gasoline and a gun, and went back inside the bank. He told all the depositors in the bank to leave and closed the entrance, taking several bank employees hostages, including the bank’s branch manager, Hassan Halawi. 

    Halawi told local news that the bank policy imposed on Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein was the same as imposed on all other customers. He refused to answer whether the Federal Bank of Lebanon’s Hamra branch was abiding by Circular No. 158, which allows monthly withdrawals up to $400.

    “He made me feel like I was a beggar… but it’s my own money,” Hussein said at the press conference on Thursday. 

    Hussein stressed that he didn’t attack or hurt any one of the bank employees. During the detention process, he negotiated through the Ministry of Interior until he was promised $35.000 of his deposit in cash as well as $400 daily, in exchange for being allowed to leave the bank and go home directly. 

    However, he was detained as soon as he exited the bank and kept in custody where he went on a hunger strike. He was released the following Tuesday, when Public Prosecutor Ghassan Quiedat issued a decision to leave Hussein free without any charge or claim. 

    Hussein’s lawyer, Fouad Debs, co-founder of the Lebanese Depositors Union, said that the hold-up was not a robbery, but the last resort for a desperate man, as Hussein had repeatedly tried to withdraw his savings through legal means. 

    “We’ve seen the state of the judiciary – they are not even accepting lawsuits because they are on strike. And even when they were working, they weren’t giving judgment according to law and were biased towards the banks,” Fouad Debs told local news recently.

    Lebanese associations defending depositors in Lebanon have set a two-week deadline to address the deposit crisis. If their demands are not met, they have threatened to escalate and support the people retrieving their money by force.

    If the Federal Bank of Lebanon fails to release Hussein’s full savings, which amount to about $137.000, “I’ll go to the judiciary and demand my legal right. And if there’s no solution there, I’ll go back down to the bank, and do it all over again,” he said.

    Related: World Bank Accuses Lebanese Politicians Of Cruelty Over Deposit Promises

    Central Bank of Lebanon
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email

    For You

    whish pay lebanon 961

    You Can Now Use Whish Pay At Shopify Stores

    lebanon cybergames 2025 hacking 961

    Lebanon Just Won A Global Hacking Competition

    visa whish money partnership

    Visa and Whish Money Just Partnered To Push Digital Payments in Lebanon and Abroad

    uae travel ban lebanon 961

    UAE Is Officially Removing The Travel Ban On Lebanon

    Joe Issa El-Khoury 961

    Who is Joe Issa El-Khoury, Lebanon’s New Minister of Industry

    Tamara El-Zein 961

    Who is Tamara El-Zein, Lebanon’s New Minister of Environment

    lebanon jounieh cyprus by ferry 961

    You’ll Soon Be Able To Travel Between Lebanon & Cyprus By Ferry

    20 Celebrities You Probably Didn’t Know Had Lebanese Roots

    April 22, 2019
    caracalla one thousand and one nights

    Caracalla Just Added More Dates For “One Thousand and One Nights” & You Def Don’t Want To Miss It!

    July 5, 2025

    Lebanon’s Shawarma Is Going Viral in The Philippines

    April 21, 2019
    Low-Cost Lebanese Airline 961

    We Might Finally Be Getting A Low-Cost Lebanese Airline – Here’s What We Know

    June 18, 2025
    Lebanese boutiques

    25 Boutiques In Lebanon To Find Your Dream Evening Dress This Wedding Season

    June 9, 2024

    20 Typical Lebanese Slang Expressions

    April 21, 2020
    lebanese beer brands almaza beirut beer 961

    Lebanese Beer Brands Are Publicly Throwing Shade, And It’s Getting Frothy

    June 7, 2025
    lebanon cybergames 2025 hacking 961

    Lebanon Just Won A Global Hacking Competition

    June 10, 2025
    DJ

    10 Lebanese DJs You Need To Check Out This Summer

    August 7, 2024
    961 Logo
    Facebook WhatsApp TikTok Instagram

    Popular Topics

    • Guides
    • Eat & Drink
    • Listicles
    • Lebanon News
    • Diaspora
    • Explained

    961

    • About
    • WhatsApp Channel
    • News WhatsApp Channel
    • Corrections Policy
    • Ownership & Funding

    Services

    • Advertise
    • Careers
    • App Waitlist
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletter
    961™ | All Rights Reserved ©2025
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Okay