Lebanon State Prosecutor Blocks Order to Freeze Bank Assets
Arab World
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanese State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has suspended an order to freeze the assets of 20 local banks, warning it would plunge the country and its financial sector into chaos. Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim questioned bank chairmen this week over transfers abroad and recent sales of Eurobonds to foreign funds. Ibrahim issued an order on Thursday to freeze the assets of the banks, their top bosses and boards as part of a probe, state media and judicial sources. But Oueidat, who suspended the assets freeze, said: "Such a move would send the country, as well as its monetary, financial and economic sectors into chaos." Local lenders are at the heart of a financial crisis crippling Lebanon as the clock runs down on its looming debt maturities, including a $1.2 billion Eurobond due on March 9. The government will meet on Saturday to take a decision, after Speaker Nabih Berri said a majority of lawmakers oppose paying, even if that leads to default. “The country is passing through very difficult times and we are doing all we can to ease the hardship," Information Minister Manal Abdul-Samad quoted Prime Minister Hassan Diab as saying during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday. "We are studying all alternatives, possibilities and scenarios. What is important for us is to rescue the country." The banks, which for years funneled deposits to the state, hold the bulk of the sovereign debt and have been in discord with political powers over the March repayment.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2165776/lebanon-state-prosecutor-blocks-order-freeze-bank-assets
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