The head of the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria (CBS) was arrested earlier this week after losing five million dollars in bank funds in a bad transaction, reported the official newspaper Tishrin.
CBS General Manager Mahmud Nadim Metqal was put under investigation for transferring money to an unidentified foreign bank. He is being accused of making the transfer with the knowledge that the foreign bank was in economic distress. Metqal is facing charges of financial misconduct before Syria’s economic security court.
Syria’s largest bank, CBS was established in 1967 with its headquarters bases in Damascus. It has over fifty branches located across Syria’s provinces, in addition to 32 Foreign Exchange centers. The bank’s head office is located in Damascus.
Syrian banks have been nationalized since 1963, however in 2000, the government, headed by the young President Bashar Al-Assad, approved moves towards the privatization of financial institutions. As of present, regulations that would oversee private bank operations are yet to be finalized and no private banks are currently in operation. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
