Oueidat seeks arrest of money changers involved in currency speculation

State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat on Monday sent a memo to Financial Prosecutor Judge Ali Ibrahim asking him to “immediately” order the arrest of the money changers and speculators who are contributing to “the collapse of the national currency.”

The development comes ahead of a scheduled meeting for the central bank in which measures to improve the Lebanese pound’s value are expected to be taken.

The pound, which had already lost more than 95 percent of its value since 2019, plummeted to new lows against the dollar in recent days, trading for nearly LBP 65,000 against the dollar on the black market.

Since 2019, Lebanon has been in the throes of an economic crisis dubbed by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, pushing much of the population into poverty.

As the local currency nosedived, fuel prices have soared, reaching about $19 for 20 liters of petrol.