A civil case has been filed in the United States against Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), a major lender in Lebanon, after it declined to honor a cashier’s check issued to a Lebanese-American businessman. The lawsuit, brought by Joseph Zoghaib, accuses the bank of issuing checks it knew would not be paid following the collapse of Lebanon’s financial system in 2019.
The complaint, submitted last January, states that SGBL issued a check for $336,000 in 2021 against Zoghaib’s own account, but the check was rejected when presented in Miami, Florida, in 2024. Zoghaib claims the bank collaborated with Lebanon’s central bank, Banque du Liban (BDL), which refused to clear the check, citing restrictions from foreign regulators. Both SGBL and BDL have yet to comment, though SGBL has requested a deadline extension to respond, now set for January 12.
The crisis began in late 2019 when a shortage of foreign currency paralyzed Lebanon’s banking sector. Most depositors were barred from withdrawing or transferring U.S. dollars, while the Lebanese pound, long pegged to the greenback, lost over 80 percent of its value on the open market within months. Banks briefly closed in October 2019, then imposed informal capital controls, locking savers out of their dollar accounts.
This case is part of a broader trend of legal actions against Lebanese banks. In a notable instance, the law firm Fountain Court Chambers successfully recovered funds for a U.K. national in 2022. Zoghaib’s complaint alleges that SGBL fraudulently assured him his deposits were accessible, including the ability to transfer dollars abroad, while hiding the bank’s shaky finances and the broader system’s insolvency.
“This issue unites everyone, crossing all sects, politics, and social classes,” Zoghaib told Daraj. “Whether we have $5, $5 million, or $50 million, we’re all in the same boat.”
SGBL is majority-owned by Antoun Sehnaoui, who has filed legal complaints against Daraj after its coverage of his bank’s ties with former central bank governor Riad Salame. Salame was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2023 for allegedly diverting hundreds of millions of dollars through shell companies to invest in European real estate.
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is now entering the discovery phase, where evidence will be exchanged. However, the parties agreed on November 26 to pursue court-monitored mediation, which may postpone any trial.