Is it permissible to give zakah to a person who is being pursued by a riba (usury or interest) bank?

The questioner : A place for my debt in the bank, the paper. Yes. What do you say about this? A man is being pursued by a riba bank for a loan with riba, to pay it off.

The Shaykh : Yes. How was it? There is a distinction here. If he were to refuse to pay off this bank’s debt, and I were to answer for him, and the judge ruled that he is free from the riba, then we do not give him zakah. Why? Because he can get rid of this debt through a legal ruling. But if he cannot do that, meaning he is obligated to pay it, then he is given zakah for his own benefit, not for the benefit of the riba bank. I mean, this man will be pursued and will likely be taken to the authorities, and perhaps he will be imprisoned. But as I told you, this is also a side that we must consider. If we know that if we pay off his debt, he will become engrossed in borrowing, then we should not rush to give it to him.
Nor should we pay off his debt in one lump sum, because those who are afflicted with borrowing, and may Allah protect us from that, become addicted to the love of borrowing and the ease of debt for them. So we do not assist them in that, but we wait until the owner of the right squeezes them and presses them. When there is no longer food in their bellies and the blood begins to flow, then we give to them, but only to the extent of their need.