A London judge ordered two Lebanese banks to pay about $4 million to a British businessman, the first decision in the U.K. ordering the Lebanon’s banks to pay locked-out deposits.
According to the London court order, stamped Feb. 28, the funds are tied up in Bank Audi SAL and Societe Generale De Banque Au Liban SAL.
The court also ordered the transfer to be made to the businessman no later than March 4.
"This is the first case relating to the Lebanese financial crisis to be successfully brought in the UK," said Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, the law firm representing British-Lebanese businessman Vatche Manoukian, Bloomberg reports.
The law firm added: "This decision is likely to be of interest to other English and EU domiciled individuals with funds held in Lebanese banks."
It's worth noting that this is not the first time Lebanese banks face such ruling from a foreign legal system. In December 2020, a French court had ordered Lebanon's Saradar Bank to pay $2.8 million to a client residing in France.
