As sanctions loom, Syria looks to retrieve funds from abroad
Damascus wants the country's banks to develop incentives to bring Syrian funds back, especially those deposited in Lebanese banks.
Syria wants its money back.
The Central Bank of Syria is redoubling efforts to bring back funds deposited in Lebanese and other foreign banks, as US financial restrictions on the Syrian regime grow tighter. The US House of Representatives passed Jan. 22 the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act on the Middle East for 2019, designed to impose stricter sanctions on the regime for torturing its own citizens. A similar bill is pending in the Senate.
The new sanctions would affect entities that cooperate with Syria in the fields of construction, engineering, energy and air transport, as well as those that help finance the regime.
Local media revealed that the Central Bank is considering all possible options to attract funds from Syrians abroad, accepting foreign currency deposits in dollars and euros and relying on exchange companies and local banks.
