Aug 17, 2013
Damascus, (SANA) - The authorities shut down Hawl al-Khalij currency exchange company for manipulating Syrian Pound exchange rates by trading currencies in the black market, arresting a number of the company's employees.
In confessions broadcast by the Syrian TV on Saturday, Ammar Masbaha, one of the employees, said the company bought USD from the Central Bank and sold it in the black market instead of selling it legally to citizens, and that this was done upon instructions by the company's owner Bashar Abu Harb who is staying in Dubai.
Masbaha said Abu Harb would call them and instruct them to deliver the currency they get to specific people, and that they used to sell USD in the black market when it's exchange rate against SYP decreases, causing the rate to rise again.
He said that when the authorities inventoried the company's safe, they found extra funds and an assortment of foreign currency which were bought from the Central Bank and stashed away, refraining from selling them to citizens and selling them in the black market instead where a number of companies and figures would coordinate to manipulate exchange rates.
Khaled al-Mleih, another employee, noted that the company had violated laws and regulations before, which was why it was shut down for six months before paying ensuing fines and returning to work four months ago.
Al-Mleih said that while inspecting the company's records, the authorities uncovered a secret stash containing foreign currency set to be sold in the black market.
He pointed out that the company's owner Abu Harb lives in Dubai with his family where he runs an exchange company, and that he watched work at the company in Damascus online via cameras, giving the employees instructions which they followed to the letter.
On a relevant note, the authorities arrested a network which was distributing counterfeit US Dollars by using the counterfeit currency to pay for goods, in addition to arresting a man who works in food products trade who had counterfeit USD in his possession.
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2013
