Alain Bifani to the Financial Times: Bankers ‘smuggled’ $6bn out of Lebanon

Former Director General of the Ministry of Finance said on Monday that “bankers have smuggled up to $6bn out of Lebanon since October.”

Alain Bifani, who resigned as director-general of public finance two weeks ago in protest at the state’s handling of the crisis, told the Financial Times in an interview that the political and banking elite were trying to “continue to benefit from the system without taking any loss”, while ordinary Lebanese “may today pay a terrible price”.

Bifani claimed banking sector data showed $5.5bn-$6bn had been “smuggled outside the country” by “bankers who would [not allow] every other depositor to take $100”. 

He reached the estimate based on his interpretation of the figures and consultation with Lebanon’s banking control authority, he said.