![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/lebanons-tainted-bank-chief-leaves-an-economy-in-tatters/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/130475854_3c9649df46b20d93b597598530b46e8d5399f625.jpg&description=Image source, Reuters Image caption, Riad Salameh is wanted for questioning by seven countries on suspicion of corruption Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salameh is about to step down from the top job after 30 years. But he leaves behind an economy in a state of collapse, and a country in the grip of one of the world's worst financial crises, as our Middle East correspondent Anna Foster reports from Beirut. It is hard to tell exactly what is inside the bottle that Omar Aawah holds up to the camera. But in the grainy viral video, he makes his situation crystal clear. This is a hold-up at Omar's bank, and he's mixed his own home-made acid to threaten the staff into handing over money. "I spilled some drops on a calculator and on the floor to show the acid was for real, it bubbled and boiled," he told me. But Omar was not there to steal other people's money - he only wanted to take back his own. "I just want what is rightfully mine," he says in the video. "I don't want to hurt anybody." Image caption, Omar Aawah is one of several customers who have held up banks to get back their savings Omar's savings were locked in the bank, now worth just a fraction of their real value, and it is the same for depositors across Lebanon. Since the financial crisis began here, people's access to their money has been extremely limited. If they want to withdraw US dollars, it is at an exchange rate so small it's almost worthless. Omar's own deposits from a lifetime of work have shrunk so much that he has lost more than 80% of his life savings. After the hold-up he leaves triumphant with all that remains - $6,500. He will use it to pay for vital neck surgery. Doctors say that without it, he could be left paralysed. It is a devastating situation for the millions of Lebanese who have lost access to their money. But the rise of bank robberies is a huge problem too - even though the term "robbery" doesn't accurately reflect what depositors are trying to do. They are simply trying to get){kind=link}
Lebanon’s central bank governor Riad Salameh is about to step down from the top job after 30 years. But he leaves behind an economy in a state of collapse, and a country in the grip of one of the world’s worst financial crises, as our Middle East correspondent Anna Foster reports from Beirut.
It is hard to tell exactly what is inside the bottle that Omar Aawah holds up to the camera. But in the grainy viral video, he makes his situation crystal clear. This is a hold-up at Omar’s bank, and he’s mixed his own home-made acid to threaten the staff into handing over money.
“I spilled some drops on a calculator and on the floor to show the acid was for real, it bubbled and boiled,” he told me.
But Omar was not there to steal other people’s money – he only wanted to take back his own.
“I just want what is rightfully mine,” he says in the video. “I don’t want to hurt anybody.”