Eleven Lebanese banks on Wednesday submitted a memo to the Finance Ministry demanding that the Lebanese state pay its debts and obligations to the Central Bank (BDL) to allow it to pay its obligations to the Lebanese banks, to allow them in turn to return the trapped funds to depositors, the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) said.

“The memo is based on the budgets of the Central Bank, on the results of the forensic audit issued by Alvarez & Marsal, and on the audit carried out by Oliver Wyman at a request from the Lebanese state,” ABL added.

The memo also threatens to “resort to the administrative judiciary to compel the Lebanese state to fulfill its legal obligations towards the Central Bank should it not heed these demands.”