PanamaTimes

Thursday, Jul 03, 2025

Woman who 'stole' her own money in bank raid with a fake gun let off with a fine

Woman who 'stole' her own money in bank raid with a fake gun let off with a fine

A Lebanese woman who raided a bank with a fake gun to ‘steal’ her own money has been let off with a fine.


Sali Hafiz stormed a branch in Beirut to demand her own savings in order to pay for her sister’s cancer treatment.

The 28-year-old quickly became a folk hero during three weeks on the run after footage of the September 14 incident circulated online.

She managed to retrieve nearly $12,000 from her account by threatening employees with a pistol which turned out to be a replica.

It inspired several copycat heists and tapped into popular anger at the country’s economic decline, which has seen 95% knocked off the value of the currency.

Strict capital controls imposed by the country’s struggling banks since 2019 mean people are not allowed to withdraw foreign currencies.

It means that people can only access their funds if they convert it to the Lebanese pound but its weakness mean that incurs huge financial losses, effectively trapping cash in bank accounts.

Ms Hafiz handed herself in and was taken into custody before being released this morning to cheers.

Sali Hafi embraces her friends after being released from court this morning

She was let off with a fine of around £600 after becoming a cult hero in Lebanon


She was ordered to pay a fine of one million Lebanese pounds, around £600, and issued with a six-month travel ban.

Ms Hafiz raised a fist for the waiting cameras as she left court and said she was heading to the bank to formally confirm how much she took.

But in a warning to the company’s management, she said: ‘How about you give me the rest of my money while things are calm, so we don’t have to go through that again?’

More than a dozen depositors have held up banks to access their own savings in the past month alone.

Lenders were forced to shut up shop entirely for a week last month after a spate of hold-ups and have since reopened with heightened security.


With the country’s politics in turmoil and no end in sight to the crisis, banks have been imposing the tight controls themselves.

There is huge pressure on lawmakers from voters and the industry alike to take action to stabilise the situation, including passing reforms in order to obtain a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

On Wednesday, a member of parliament held a sit-in at her bank branch north of Beirut to retrieve $8,500 trapped in the bank that she said she needed for a surgery.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
Trump Threatens 50% Tariff on EU Goods, Markets React
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Former FBI Director James Comey Questioned by Secret Service Over Social Media Post
×