Syrian committee approves bill banning foreign currencies

Syria\'s Economic Micro Committee meets in Damascus The Syrian government\'s Economic Micro Committee has approved a bill that makes dealing in currencies other than the Syrian Pound a crime, leading to fines and prison sentences of 3 to 10 years.
The bill, which will be referred to the relevant authorities to be passed according to regulations, seeks to prevent manipulation of prices in the market and curb exploitation of citizens\' needs.
During the committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi, members discussed mechanisms for preventing the rise of supply and food stuff prices in markets and implementing regulations to prevent manipulation of the USD price.
The committee also discussed the possibility of increasing state subsidisation of some food materials by providing food baskets at subsidised prices.
Governor of the Central Bank of Syria (CBS) Adib Mayyaleh said that the CBS sold USD to exchange companies at SYP 247.5 to be sold by these companies at SYP 250, adding that such intervention will be carried out twice a week and that exchange companies can still sell foreign currency to citizens for commercial and non-commercial purposes as per regulations.
Mayyaleh also proposed a bill for compensating citizens for the reduction in purchasing power for their deposits in banks, and the committee approved this bill on preliminary basis.
Source: SANA