Apparently, Bank Audi Is Not Planning to Buy Ahwet El 2zez

According to Tarek, Bank Audi wrote this reply as a response to a complaint email he sent them regarding the matter:

“We would like to assure you that Bank Audi has not bought and has no intention to buy ”Ahwet El Ezez” to establish a branch in Gemmayze. Please note that we already have a branch in that area.

On the other hand, Bank Audi is committed to preserve national and cultural heritage and has in the past shown its commitment. For example, the old villa in Achrafieh-Sursock has been preserved and turned into a cultural center/ museum.”

If this was indeed a rumor, it is important to note that it started at the same time there was a big fuss in the media and on the street (yes, in Gemmayze) about old Beirut buildings losing out to the brutal construction industry.

So how did this rumor start?

The conspiracy theory is that the preservation folks stealthily planted this rumor to empower their case. The more plausible explanation however is that this was just an unfortunate, large scale incident of Téléphone cassé