Assad accuses Lebanon’s banks of causing Syrian economic crisis

While speculation about the lira exchange rate on parallel markets was renewed, and the dollar’s price in Lebanon rose above the 7 thousand lire threshold, shadowed by the hazy weather that accompanies the task of forming the new government, local news sites and social media platforms buzzed yesterday, recording a video of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in which he said that the main reason for the worsening economic crisis in his country in recent months it is due to the seizure of billions of dollars of deposits belonging to Syrians in Lebanese banks.
Al-Assad said that between 20 and 42 billion dollars of these deposits can be lost in the Lebanese banking sector, adding: “This figure for the Syrian economy is an alarming figure.” “The money was taken and landed in Lebanon and we paid the price, and this is the essence of the problem that no one is talking about,” added Assad, who was speaking during a trade fair tour.
Al-Assad said that the current economic burdens are not caused by the “Caesar Law”, which imposed harsh sanctions on traffickers with the Syrian regime, adding that “the current crisis started earlier (Caesar Law) and began years after the blockade. These are the resources they left (in the Lebanese banks) “.
Despite the Lebanese banks’ admission that local financial repercussions extend to the Syrian market and vice versa as well, especially since the entry into force of the “Caesar Law” increased Syrian dependence on the Lebanese market as a vital outlet for ” breathe, “being the closest geographically and the most interconnected economically and commercially, and hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced Syrians. High-level banking sources reduced the impact of the new states on local markets, given the insoluble monetary and financial problems that they mainly suffer, which led banks to adopt controls and enforcement procedures that apply to all customers and extend their usual operations on the investment and credit side, in addition to the bank secrecy system that disclosing accounts is prohibited and the depositor is free to dispose of his money under normal circumstances.
However, the same sources pointed to the large difference between the estimates of the Syrian minimum deposits in Lebanese banks at about $ 20 billion, and the upper limit at about $ 42 billion, as stated by President Al-Assad which completely indicates the impossibility of determining the participation of the “nationalities” of the depositors in relation to the approved distribution. That exclusively separates between residents and non-residents. Note that thousands of Syrians acquired Lebanese citizenship through a decree issued in mid-1994, and hundreds also obtained it for decades through special decrees.
According to the approved classification, the latest data collected indicates that the total deposits of resident clients in local banks currently amount to about 113 billion dollars, of which about 88 billion dollars are issued in hard currencies and the rest in pounds, while the total deposits of non-resident clients are around 27.5 billion dollars, among them alone. The equivalent of about $ 2.2 billion, expressed in pounds. This brings the total deposits to around $ 140 billion, considering that 7 private banks with Lebanese contributions operate in the Syrian market.
The Reuters news agency quoted Syrian businessmen as saying that the strict controls imposed by Lebanese banks on the withdrawal of deposits seized hundreds of millions of dollars that were used to import basic products such as oil and goods into Syria. As bankers and businessmen put it: “Many of the Syrian front companies evaded Western sanctions, using the Lebanese banking system to import goods not allowed into Syria by land. The United States Department of the Treasury has blacklisted dozens of these companies.
Syrian authorities blame Western sanctions for the widespread hardships among ordinary citizens. The collapse of the currency (about 2,500 Syrian pounds to the dollar now) since the beginning of the year has caused high prices and the suffering of citizens for bread and basic supplies. Last month, the government faced a severe fuel shortage and was forced to raise the price of bread as wheat stocks shrink, exacerbating discontent among a population weary of a ten-year war.