Depositors who lost their life savings in Lebanon's banking collapse are denouncing a court decision on a pending release of former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, following nearly a year in detention on lesser corruption charges.
Salameh once hailed as a financial wizard but now blamed for orchestrating one of history's most devastating economic collapses may be released just days before his legal detention period would have expired, sparking protests from victims who had hoped his imprisonment would finally bring accountability.
Lebanon has endured one of the world's worst economic collapses since 2019. The banking system froze deposits worth over $100 billion, leaving millions of Lebanese unable to access their life savings as the currency lost 95% of its value. Former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, who ran monetary policy for 30 years, is widely blamed as the architect of the policies that led to this devastation.
'They made a deal with our money'
Hassan Mughniyeh, whose Depositors Association represents thousands of Lebanese who cannot access their bank accounts, said to The New Arab, "This wasn't a court decision—it was a deal."
Since 2019, Lebanese banks have imposed informal capital controls, preventing most depositors from withdrawing their foreign currency savings.
"Twenty million dollars to waive the remaining 20 million from his consulting scandal—they're trading with our stolen money," Mughniyeh said, describing the bail decision as a "judicial farce."
His association is preparing to appeal what they see as the latest injustice in a system that has systematically failed ordinary Lebanese.
The $20 million bail—the highest in Lebanese judicial history—must be paid in cash to the Judges' Mutual Fund, along with 5 billion Lebanese pounds (about $55,000 at today's collapsed exchange rate) in order for Salameh to be released. He is also banned from travelling out of the country for one year.
Salameh held office for 30 years (1993-2023) and was once praised by international financial institutions. His "financial engineering" schemes—which critics say were elaborate Ponzi schemes—artificially propped up the Lebanese pound while secretly draining the country's foreign currency reserves.
He was arrested on 3 September 2024 on lesser charges of embezzling at least $44 million from the central bank, as well as illicit enrichment and forgery. While those charges did not relate directly to depositors, many across Lebanon hoped this would begin some form of accountability.
"We expected him to talk, to expose everyone who caused and benefited from our destruction," said Mughniyeh. "Instead, his release takes us back to square zero, back to a system where the powerful escape justice while we suffer."
Raed Abu Hamdan from the Depositors League was even blunter. "This is part of the war the banking mafia wages against us. First they stole our money, now they mock our pain with this theatre," he said.
A generation's dreams destroyed
Lebanon's banking sector, once the pride of the Middle East, became a house of cards. Banks lured depositors with unsustainably high interest rates while the central bank printed money to pay them, creating a pyramid scheme that eventually collapsed.
The human cost behind the depositors' rage is staggering. Teachers who saved for decades to buy homes found their accounts frozen. Retirees who worked abroad and sent money home discovered their life savings had evaporated. Young professionals emigrated en masse, abandoning a country that abandoned them first.
Over 80% of Lebanese now live below the poverty line. The World Bank called it one of the worst economic crises globally since the 1850s. An estimated 300,000 people have left Lebanon since 2019.
Moussa Aghasi from the "Depositors' Cry" association said the bail decision raises fundamental questions about justice.
"What about people's deposits worth billions of dollars? How did they disappear? Who's responsible?" he asked. "We still don't have a transparent investigation showing how billions vanished between the governments, banks, and the central bank."
His group plans a press conference next month alongside protests at government buildings, demanding action on what they call "negligence in finding a fair solution to return depositors' money in full."
The depositors' fury isn't just about money—it's about a system that repeatedly betrays ordinary people while protecting the powerful.
Financial expert Ghassan Shammas warned that if Salameh "walks free" on a "forgive and forget" basis, it would represent "the biggest crime against Lebanese depositors and citizens."
Lebanon's post-civil war period (1990-present) has been marked by widespread corruption and impunity. A general amnesty after the 1975-1990 war set a precedent where powerful figures escaped accountability, a pattern many fear is repeating.
Lawyer Ali Abbas, who represents depositors, fears Salameh's pending release signals the beginning of burying all financial crimes.
"This threatens to apply the same 'forgive and forget' principle we saw after the civil war," he said. "The powerful escape justice while ordinary people pay the price."
Abbas noted a troubling detail: the Lebanese state wasn't even allowed to participate as a party in the case. "Was his detention real prosecution, or just theatre to prevent him from facing European courts?" he asked, referring to ongoing investigations in Switzerland, France, and Germany.
European investigators are pursuing Salameh for allegedly embezzling $330 million in central bank funds and money laundering. Some suspect his detention in Lebanon was designed to prevent his extradition to face more serious charges abroad.
Pattern of impunity
For depositors, Salameh's pending release is a continuation of a system where Lebanon's elite systematically loot the country while ordinary citizens bear the consequences.
The 73-year-old former governor, whose lawyers asked for his release citing health problems, had been detained on charges related to an alleged consulting fees scandal. His lawyer claimed the detention was legally excessive, but Lebanese public opinion say the charges against him are not enough to hold him fully accountable.
"This is the same old Lebanon," said Abu Hamdan. "They destroy our lives, steal our futures, then walk away laughing. But we won't let them forget. We won't let them hide."
The depositors' associations are mobilising for what they see as a final battle for justice.
They know that if Salameh escapes accountability, it sends a message to every corrupt official in Lebanon: steal what you want, destroy what you must, there will always be a way out for those with power and money.
Lebanon's crisis has sparked one of the largest waves of emigration in the country's modern history, with entire families abandoning their homeland. Those who remain often struggle with rolling blackouts, medicine shortages, and the collapse of basic services.
This article is published in collaboration with Egab.