U.S. Federal Court Dismisses Suit Against Bank of Lebanon Over U.S.-Dollar Deposit Assurances

A U.S. federal court in the District of New Jersey dismissed a suit against Bank of Lebanon, issuing an order on April 29, 2026 in Case No. 24-cv-05043 filed on April 16, 2024 by American depositors of Lebanese origin.

The bank said the dismissal followed proceedings in which plaintiffs claimed Bank of Lebanon contributed to attracting their U.S.-dollar deposits through misleading assurances about the safety of the funds and access to them.

Al-Nahar

The decision, issued by Judge Christine B. O’Hearn, concluded the suit was dismissed against Bank of Lebanon in its entirety, reinforcing that central banks operating within their sovereign framework enjoy protection from the jurisdiction of foreign courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

The article says the court found Bank of Lebanon acted in the capacity of a sovereign central bank and regulator of the banking sector and did not engage in business activity required for the FSIA’s commercial activity exceptions.

It adds that the ruling followed U.S. precedents including a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision on July 28, 2022 and a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York decision on September 29, 2023.

In Beirut, discussions in Cairo aimed at moving toward an end to the war in Gaza are running up against a dispute between Palestinian factions and mediators over the key issue of disarming this territory and Hamas, AFP learned on Tuesday from Palestinian sources.

The Ici Beyrouth article frames the consultations as continuing while the dispute persists over disarmament, with the text listing multiple timestamps and contributors from Beirut.

Ici Beyrouth

The same Lebanon-focused coverage also appears in an opinion piece arguing that Lebanon should adopt federalism as a way to reunify the country rather than partition it.

In that opinion, MP Walid al-Baarini, who represents the region of Akkar in parliament, defended his call for “federalism,” saying his proposal “means unification rather than partitioning as some are claiming.”

The yalibnan opinion argues that Lebanon lost the nickname “The Switzerland of the East” after the 1975-1990 civil war and says it will never regain it as long as the current corrupt and divisive political Sectarian remains in place.

“During its better days and until the early 1970s Lebanon was dubbed “The Switzerland of the East”, but unfortunately it lost that title after the 1975-1990 civil war and never regained it and, as long as the current corrupt and divisive political Sectarian remains in place it will never regain it”

yalibnan

It says Walid al-Baarini told Nidaa al-Watan that “We demand broad decentralization and call for a serious discussion that would bring down all barriers among the Lebanese,” and he added that dialogue should lead to “Lebanonized federalism.”

The piece also cites MP Camille Dory Chamoun, who announced last April the launch of preparations for the federalism project and said the “central sectarian system is an obstacle to Lebanon’s progress.”

It further quotes Gebran Bassil of the Free Patriotic Party saying “Federalism is the opposite of division,” while also describing Switzerland’s federal structure of 26 cantons and Lebanon’s 25 districts (Qadaa) as a basis for comparison.

The article concludes by describing how federalism would distribute political and legislative powers across levels and allow cantons to act with their own constitutions, parliaments, governments and courts.