Protesters scuffled with Lebanese security forces outside the Justice Ministry in Beirut, demanding the release of two people arrested last week during a bank heist.
Protesters chant slogans outside the Justice Palace during a demonstration demanding the release of two people arrested last week during a bank robbery, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Anger with local lenders who have been imposing informal capital controls including limits on ATM withdrawals for nearly three years increased in recent weeks, with some depositors storming bank branches and taking their trapped savings by force.
The Lebanese government has implemented few of the IMF's demands from a staff level agreement reached with the IMF in April. It l ists five “key pillars” that should be implemented, including restructuring the financial sector, implementing fiscal reforms, the proposed restructuring of external public debt, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering efforts.
Anger with local lenders who have been imposing informal capital controls including limits on ATM withdrawals for nearly three years has increased in recent weeks, with some depositors storming bank branches and taking their trapped savings by force. They joined Sali Hafez, who used a toy pistol to demand $13,000 from her trapped savings account. Hafez, who has been in hiding, has said she repeatedly visited the bank to ask for her money and was told she could only receive $200 a month in Lebanese pounds.