Judge Aoun Freezes Assets of 5 Banks in Ongoing Probe

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun has frozen the assets of five of Lebanon's largest banks and those of their board of directors as she investigates possible transfers of billions of dollars aboard during the country's economic meltdown.

The state-run National News Agency said the decision covers real estate, vehicles and shares that the five banks or their directors own in other companies.

The move came days after Aoun imposed travel bans on the directors of the five banks. Local TV stations said the travel bans were precautionary as auditors look into transfers by the banks worth $5 billion.

Lebanese banks have imposed informal capital controls since the economic crisis began in October 2019 after decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country's political class. Since then, people do not have full access to their savings and those who withdraw cash from their U.S. dollar accounts get an exchange rate far lower than that of the black market.

In January, Aoun also imposed a travel ban on Lebanon's central bank governor after a corruption lawsuit accused him of embezzlement and dereliction of duty during the crisis.