Exclusive: Affected Business Owners Reveal Freezing of Their Accounts at Wahda Bank and Manipulation of Citizens’ Balances

A number of business owners exclusively disclosed to our source the freezing of their accounts at Wahda Bank starting from April 29, 2024. They reported deductions from their accounts without the bank specifying the deducting entity.

The deposits were made into their accounts through legitimate procedures by the bank (internal transfer checks). However, they were surprised today to find the amounts frozen in their accounts, despite the fact that the checks were legally and officially entered into their accounts.

The business owners questioned: “Is it reasonable for our accounts to be frozen and account numbers reduced after a month?”

They confirmed that what happened was a manipulation of citizens’ balances by the Businessmen’s Branch of Wahda Bank in Benghazi, with the assistance of the branch manager, who is primarily responsible for checks and approvals by employee number. Additionally, the same procedure was carried out in other branches of Wahda Bank across the country.