Lebanese Man Robs Bank To Withdraw His Own Money

An irate man held nine bank workers hostage in Lebanon after the bank would not let him withdraw $50,000 from his savings account.

37-year-old Abdullah Assaii is accused of brandishing weapons- including a grenade in the bank branch in the Bekaa Valley area, before dousing himself in petrol and threatening to set himself ablaze if he did not get his money.

Terrified staff, eventually let him collect his money which he said he needed to stock up his cafe.

The country is currently struggling under escalating currency crises, hence the measure introduced by local authorities to avoid banks running out of the country’s currency- the Lira.

What followed was an economic meltdown which saw the Lira devalued by 95 percent over the last two years. In 2021, the UN estimated that 78 percent of Lebanese people live below the poverty line.

The Lebanese public prosecutor has ordered local authorities in Assaii’s home village of Kefraya to retrieve the amount of cash he is alleged to have given his wife, who is now at large.

Bank unions are seeking increased security for workers as they argue that Assaii’s actions endangered bank workers and the need had arisen to prevent copycat incidents.

The depositors union has written their support for Assaii, whom many described as a hero, saying that he (Assaii) was facing banks who were robbing people of their lives. The unions’ lawyer, Dina Abou-zour, has filled for the release of her client, dismissing the accusations that he had weapons.

Assaii has been jailed and is allegedly currently on a hunger strike in protest.