Intermediary Circular No. 682 for Banks

We present to you, in connection with Intermediary Decision No. 13592 dated 17/11/2023 concerning the amendment of the Basic Decision, a copy of Basic Decision No. 13335 dated 8/6/2021 (Exceptional measures for the gradual withdrawal of deposits in foreign currencies) attached to Basic Circular No. 158.

Beirut, 17/11/2023
Acting Governor of Banque du Liban
Dr. Wissam Mansouri

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Intermediary Decision No. 13592

Amendment of Basic Decision No. 13335 dated 8/6/2021

The Governor of Banque du Liban,
Pursuant to the Monetary and Exchange Law, particularly Articles 70 and 174 thereof, And the provisions of Basic Decision No. 13335 dated 8/6/2021 and its amendments concerning exceptional measures for the gradual repayment of foreign currency deposits, And pursuant to the decision of the Central Council of Banque du Liban taken in its meeting held on 17/11/2023, Decrees as follows:

Article 1: A new "Article 2 bis" is added to Basic Decision No. 13335 dated 8/6/2021, with the following text:

Article 2 bis:
Contrary to the above and without prejudice to other conditions set forth in the opening of "First" paragraph, any Account Holder whose accounts were held at any bank (hereinafter the "Transferring Bank") in foreign currencies prior to 31/10/2019 and were transferred after this date to another bank (hereinafter the "Transferred-to Bank") may benefit from the provisions of this Decision. Accordingly, the amount to which he is entitled shall be refunded to the "Transferring Bank."
These accounts include, in the "Transferring Bank", an account that was joint and became individual in the "Transferred-to Bank", or an account that was individual and became joint in the Transferred-to Bank.
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Secondly, for the purpose of applying the provisions of this Article:

1. Only the primary "Account Holder" from whom such amounts are transferred shall benefit, provided that whether the account is individual or joint. The account transferred to his name in case of death, heirs or legatees may benefit from the provisions of this Decision with a value not exceeding the limits stipulated in "First" paragraph of Article 4 below.
2. The "Account Holder" must:
   • Waive banking secrecy on his account at the "Transferred-to Bank" in favor of Banque du Liban and the Banking Control Commission, according to PP-02-BDR-BDL (the attached model) to verify the correct application of this Article's provisions, in addition to waiving banking secrecy under "Sixth" paragraph of Article 3 of this Decision.
   • Obtain from the "Transferred-to Bank" a certificate confirming that the amount to be refunded was deposited in the name of the "Account Holder" from the "Transferring Bank" and that he is subject to this Decision's provisions.
3. The "Transferred-to Bank" shall calculate the amount that the customer may benefit from under this Article by accepting the account balance as it stands, provided that the amount remains available on 31/10/2023 at the time of benefiting from this Article's provisions, and does not exceed the balance available on the date of opening the account at the "Transferred-to Bank", after applying the provisions in items (b) and (c) of "First" paragraph of Article 2 above, without including amounts deposited in the account that did not originate from the "Account Holder's" account at the "Transferring Bank".
4. The "Account Holder" may request from the "Transferring Bank", after providing the certificates mentioned in the previous item, to reopen a Haldi account dedicated to receiving the amount he is entitled to under this Decision. The concerned bank must comply with his request unless related to compliance rules, a court dispute between the parties, or any deficiency in the information required in the certificates, under penalty of sanctions stipulated in this Decision. The amount transferred to the "Transferring Bank" shall not exceed 50,000 USD.
5. If the account at the "Transferring Bank" remains open, the "Account Holder", after providing the certificates mentioned in item (3) of this Article, may request replenishment from the open account at the "Transferred-to Bank", provided that the total amount refunded to the account, in addition to the amount he can benefit from under this Decision at the "Transferring Bank", does not exceed 50,000 USD.
6. The bank to which the amount is refunded shall calculate the amount that the "Account Holder" may benefit from according to the calculation conditions in items (b) and (c) of "First" paragraph of Article 2 above, provided that it does not exceed the balance available on 31/10/2019.
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Thirdly, the "Account Holder" benefits retroactively from the period extending from the date of submitting the complete request, until the date of opening the "Special Sub-Account", so that the full amounts due for this period are paid on the first payment date, provided that he has not benefited during it from the provisions of Basic Decision No. 13221 dated 21/4/2020 (Basic Circular 151). A new paragraph is added to the text of "Third" paragraph of Article 3 of Basic Decision No. 13335 dated 8/6/2021, with the following text:

« The total amount that the "Account Holder" may benefit from under this Decision from all banks shall not exceed 50,000 USD. »

Article 3: The text of both the First and Second items of "Fifth" paragraph of Article 3 of Basic Decision No. 13335 dated 8/6/2021 is repealed and replaced with the following text:

• « No commissions or expenses of any kind shall be charged on him or on any related account, so that the customer benefits from the full amount due without any commissions or deductions, and the "Special Sub-Account" shall be non-interest-bearing. »

Article 4: The text of "Third" paragraph of Article 4 of Basic Decision No. 13335 dated 8/6/2021 is repealed and replaced with the following:

« Thirdly: Deposited values may be withdrawn entirely or partially by the "Account Holder" from the "Special Sub-Account" via checks or transfers to another account within Lebanon at the same bank or another bank. »

Article 5: This Decision takes effect upon its issuance.

Article 6: This Decision is published in the Official Gazette.

Beirut, 17/11/2023
Acting Governor of Banque du Liban
Dr. Wissam Mansouri

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Attachment: Special Sub-Account Registry Form (Basic Circular No. 158)

BDL-BDR-02-PP | Bank Secrecy Revelation Proxy Form | Article 2 bis of Basic Decision 13335 of 8/6/2021

Field	English Label
Bank Name	Name Bank
Branch Name	Name Branch
Date & Ref No.	Date: __/_/ Ref. No.: _________________
Internal Reference	Number Reference Internal: _______________________
Account No.	Number Account: _________

Client Details:
Surname: ______________________ Sex: ⬜ M / ⬜ F Name: ______________________ Father's Name: ______________________ Mother's Name: ______________________ Date of Birth: ______________________ Nationality: ______________________ Register No.: ___________ Place: ___________. No - Register Place: _______________

I, the undersigned, in accordance with BDL basic circular No. 158 dated 8/6/2021, hereby waive the banking secrecy on my account referred to above held at the aforesaid bank solely in favor of the Banque du Liban and the Banking Control Commission.

(Client Signature) (Bank Stamp & Signature)
The director of the bank is held personally responsible for the authenticity of the client's signature.