Since the beginning of the financial crisis in Lebanon, commercial banks have attacked depositors, deposits have been stolen and disappeared, and the capital has exploded with its people. The former Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, has become persecuted, locally and internationally, on charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, and theft of public money. While the Lebanese security services pursued depositors to prevent them from storming banks to demand their deposits, they were charged the financial collapse tax and its costs.
Reports, data, and even criminal and financial investigations continued to reveal the circumstances that led to this general bankruptcy, the burden of which was borne by the citizens, without the Lebanese judiciary assuming this responsibility towards the impoverished people. Rather, it adopted the path of protection and cover-up for Riad Salama and his aides. As for small depositors, they were the most affected group.
Accounts disappear
The important thing is that in conjunction with all these events, the number of bank accounts opened in Lebanese commercial banks in US dollars, the value of each of which exceeds 100 million US dollars, and which belong to the wealthy category, turned out to be only 14 accounts, as of the end of October 2019. . The surprise is that at the end of December 2022, these accounts decreased to six. In clearer terms, there are eight bank accounts belonging to large depositors and the wealthy, which have completely disappeared. It is noteworthy that the total value of deposits in this category of accounts exceeded $3.8 billion, but the value decreased at the end of 2022 to $903 million. In other words, the majority of these deposits were smuggled.
In detail, Al-Modon reviewed official documents issued by the Central Bank, explaining in numbers the number of bank accounts opened in commercial banks between 2019 and 2022, and showing the number of accounts that were closed or credited during these years.
Most importantly, following the movement of bank deposits during these years, and comparing the total value of these various categories, will then reveal a clear change in the value of funds between categories of depositors.
It is worth noting that on October 31, 2019, the total number of bank accounts reached (2,412,786) accounts, and on December 31, 2022, the number decreased by half, equivalent to (1,233,084) accounts.
As for the number of bank accounts opened with commercial banks, whose value ranges between $50 million and $100 million (the value of one account), in 2019, their number reached 33 accounts, but at the end of 2022, the number of these accounts decreased to only 9. That is, there are 24 accounts that have completely disappeared. The total value exceeded $1,833 billion during 2019, but it shrank to $611 million on December 31, 2022!
Official numbers
The documents show during the survey conducted by the Directorate of Statistics in the Lebanese banking sector at the end of December 2022; The number of customer accounts in the national local currency is: 2,324,010, and the number of depositors is 1,673,600.
As for foreign currency, the number of customer accounts: 1,761,080, and the number of depositors: 1,232,262.
At the end of March 2023, it turns out that the total number of depositors in local and foreign currency is 2,180,529, and the number of customer accounts: 4,320,150.
As for the number of depositors who benefited from the effects of Basic Circular No. 158 dated June 8, 2021, a total of 180,976 customers – until the end of April 2023 -, and the total amount paid to these depositors amounted to the equivalent of 1,778,604,896 US dollars, of which 889,474,488 dollars were paid in cash in US dollars, shared equally between the Bank of Lebanon and the Central Bank of Lebanon. And the banks.
money smuggling?
Based on the aforementioned data, which showed in its contents the complete disappearance of accounts, and most importantly the disappearance of eight accounts whose value exceeded $100 million each, these details put us before necessary questions about how these groups, specifically the category of the wealthiest, are able to use this money. Which raises “suspicion” about the possibility that this money was actually smuggled. Did this group in particular adopt the trick of dividing their account and distributing it among other accounts, in order to avoid any taxes or banking procedures such as “heraks” that affect large accounts?
Remembering that the Central Bank receives a daily detailed report from private banks covering depositors’ data, transfers, and other details. Here, observers believe that it is more beneficial for the Bank of Lebanon, if it has the “intention” to know the fate of deposits, and if it is able to answer all the questions raised by depositors, to transfer this data to the Lebanese judiciary, to scrutinize it and investigate the background of the defect occurring.
2024-02-11 08:47:10
#Official #documents #reveal #disappearance #accounts #major #depositors
