Bank of Lebanon: US Judiciary Rejects Lawsuit Filed by Depositors of Lebanese Origin Against the Bank and Others

The Bank of Lebanon announced that the US Federal Court for the Judicial District of New Jersey issued a decision on 29 April 2026 to dismiss a lawsuit filed on 16 April 2024 by a number of American depositors of Lebanese origin against the Bank of Lebanon and others.

The Bank of Lebanon stated in a communiqué: "The aforementioned judicial proceedings began following allegations made by the plaintiffs against the Bank of Lebanon, claiming that it contributed to attracting their US dollar deposits through misleading assurances about the safety of funds and their accessibility. The Bank of Lebanon requested the dismissal of the entire lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction, affirming its full sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), as the central bank of the Lebanese Republic that exercises its regulatory powers within a purely sovereign framework, not as a commercial party involved in the market."

It added: "Following trial proceedings before the US Federal Court in New Jersey, Judge Christine P. O'Hearn issued a decision concluding with the dismissal of the entire lawsuit against the Bank of Lebanon, thereby solidifying the principle that central banks operating within their sovereign framework are protected from the jurisdiction of foreign courts, as it is considered a sovereign entity protected under the provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), and therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of US courts, and because it acted as a sovereign central bank and regulator of the banking sector and did not engage in any commercial activity as required by the exceptions contained in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)."

The Bank of Lebanon pointed out that this decision is an extension of a series of consistent US judicial decisions of this kind, all of which recognized the Bank of Lebanon's sovereign immunity and rejected the claims against it before US courts, most notably the decision of the US Court of Appeals in New York issued on 28/7/2022 and the decision of the Federal Court for the State of New York issued on 29/9/2023, both of which explicitly confirmed that the Bank of Lebanon, as an agent of the Lebanese state, enjoys sovereign immunity and that the commercial activity exception stipulated in the FSIA does not apply to it and does not waive this immunity.

In light of these well-established judicial precedents, the Bank of Lebanon considered that the aforementioned judicial rulings represent a firm affirmation of the principle of sovereign immunity, and enhance the legal protection guaranteed to central banks under international law and US law.

The Bank of Lebanon welcomed these decisions, which support the fundamental principles of legal sovereignty, legislative stability, and judicial discipline, reiterating its steadfast commitment to performing its duties in accordance with its legal powers and in compliance with adopted international standards.