Syrian Industrialist Calls For Recovering Funds Frozen in Lebanese Banks

A view of Lebanon’s Central Bank building in Beirut. (Reuters)
A view of Lebanon’s Central Bank building in Beirut. (Reuters)
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Syrian Industrialist Calls For Recovering Funds Frozen in Lebanese Banks

A view of Lebanon’s Central Bank building in Beirut. (Reuters)
A view of Lebanon’s Central Bank building in Beirut. (Reuters)

An established Syrian industrialist called Sunday on the government in Damascus to act for recovering the Syrian funds stuck in Lebanese banks.

Fares Shebahi, the chairman of Syria's Federation of Chambers of Industry and head of Aleppo's Chamber of Industrialists, said that “it is no longer a secret to anyone that the Syrian State needs every lira it can get, today before tomorrow.”

In a post on his Facebook account, Shehabi said he could not understand the lack of official action in this regard.

He estimated the amount of Syrian funds frozen in Lebanon at $20 billion and accused what he said were “Lebanese banks thieves ” of looting the money.

Shehabi then stated that a Jordanian businessman was capable of seizing the properties of some Lebanese banks abroad to collect his own deposits at Lebanese banks estimated at $40 million.

He called on the government to move through the intermediaries of international legal companies to collect what it can from the Syrian funds.

Economic sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that Syrian traders, industrialists, and businessmen had previously proposed, during their meetings with government officials, to act in order to recover the frozen Syrian funds.

Their request came after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a speech after being sworn in as president for a fourth term, that estimates suggest that the frozen funds are worth between $40 billion and $60 billion.

In a previous comment, Syrian industrialist Atef Tayfour had suggested that Syrian banks buy shares in Lebanese banks in exchange for their clients’ deposits abroad, and transfer them to a cash balance in Syrian pounds at home.

Lebanese banks have locked depositors out of their accounts and blocked transfers abroad since the start of the country's crisis in late 2019.

Many Syrian front companies had long circumvented Western sanctions by using Lebanon's banking system to pay for goods which were then imported into Syria by land.

But since the financial crisis in Beirut, Syrian businessmen could no longer use Lebanese banks, which led to the deterioration of the value of the Syrian pound to record levels.

Lebanese media outlets have questioned the Syrian figures circulating about the volume of Syrian deposits in Lebanese banks, especially since Lebanese banks have avoided receiving Syrian deposits since the outbreak of tension in Syria in 2011 for fear of international sanctions.

They said most of the Syrian deposits date back to before 2011, and a large part of them were withdrawn during the war in Syria.

In the absence of official figures due to Lebanon’s Banking Secrecy Law that prevents Lebanese banks from disclosing the size of their deposits, observers estimate that the volume of frozen Syrian funds in Lebanon ranges from $8 to $20 billion.



US-backed Gaza Aid Group to Halt Distribution on Wednesday, UN to Vote on Ceasefire Demand 

Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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US-backed Gaza Aid Group to Halt Distribution on Wednesday, UN to Vote on Ceasefire Demand 

Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Israeli shelling hits an area in the northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will not give out any aid on Wednesday as it presses Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites, a day after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed.

The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to "guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks" near military perimeters; develop clearer guidance for civilians; and enhance training to support civilian safety.

"Our top priority remains ensuring the safety and dignity of civilians receiving aid," said a GHF spokesperson. An Israeli military spokesperson warned civilians against moving in areas leading to GHF sites on Wednesday, deeming them "combat zones".

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it opened fire on a group of people it viewed as a threat near a GHF food aid distribution site. The International Committee of the Red Cross said at least 27 people were killed and dozens injured. The GHF said the incident was "well beyond" its site.

Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no-one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs, as crowds jostled for aid.

The UN Security Council is also set to vote on Wednesday on a demand for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas and humanitarian access across Gaza, where aid has trickled amid chaos and bloodshed after Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on the enclave where famine looms.

"It is unacceptable. Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday, adding that the aid distribution model backed by the US and Israel was "all a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what is going on."

That model is run by the newly created GHF, which started operations in the enclave a week ago and said on Tuesday that it has given out more than seven million meals from three so-called secure distribution sites. GHF Interim Executive Director John Acree urged humanitarians in Gaza: "Work with us and we will get your aid delivered to those who are depending on it."

US VETO?

The UN and other aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral and the distribution model militarizes aid. GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get aid to the distribution sites.

It is the latest in a string of efforts to get more aid into the enclave, where experts say the entire population of some 2.1 million people is at risk of famine. Jordan last year spearheaded humanitarian air drops, while the US briefly installed a floating aid pier, but it was beset by challenges.

The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone. Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies.

Israel said on Tuesday that three of its soldiers had been killed in fighting in northern Gaza. Gaza health officials said at least 18 more Palestinians were killed in other military strikes in the territory on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the reports in northern and southern Gaza.

The 10 elected members of the UN Security Council have asked for the 15-member body to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties."

The draft text, seen by Reuters, also demands the release of all hostages held by Hamas and others, and the immediate lifting of all restrictions on the entry of aid and its safe and unhindered distribution, including by the UN, throughout Gaza.

"The time to act has already passed," Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told Reuters. "It is our historical responsibility not to remain silent."

As US President Donald Trump's administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, it was not immediately clear if Washington would veto the draft text. A spokesperson for the US mission to the UN said: "We cannot preview our actions currently under consideration."

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain or France - to pass.

The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, which do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.