Bank Accounts Of Algerians Abroad under Surveillance!

Algeria has increased the degree of control over the bank accounts of Algerians who are domiciled abroad, as the Bank of Algeria sent correspondences to banks and financial institutions to the majority of European countries, including France asking them to comply with the provisions of the law that is governing the movement of capital to and from Algeria, which prohibits Algerians who are not permanent residents in European countries to open Bank accounts there.

The Bank of Algeria renewed, in early January, the correspondence it had previously sent to banks and financial institutions to various European capitals concerning the necessity of refusing to open bank accounts for non-resident Algerians in these countries, by making sure of the residence of applicants to open bank accounts, whatever the size of the balance of accounts (large or small).

The correspondent of the Bank of Algeria coincided with a similar correspondence from the Central Bank of China. Thus, the accounts of Algerians and Chinese become the most censored and controlled in European countries.

Echorouk sources from the Finance Ministry said that the Bank of Algeria had last year to take these measures to prevent the smuggling of hard currency and to coordinate formally and legally with European countries to impose such censorship, in the context of international agreements in the field of finance.

The Bank of Algeria has attached these procedures with the roofing of the sum of the amount that is authorized for each Algerian tourist, which amounts to 7000 euros.

The correspondence of the Bank of Algeria, which comes in the wake of the explosion of global media of financial issues that are related to the bank accounts of Algerians in foreign banks, and even countries that are included in the so-called tax past, which has caused trouble for some small depositors, who relied on the “fake” residence of some relatives at the opening of accounts, especially with regard to that accounts in France, which were used by some Algerians in the past to make some bookings or payment remotely, not as current accounts, which cost the owners expenses up to the limits of 18 euros per month.

The new procedures of the Bank of Algeria as a responsible body for the movement of capital to and from Algeria, and the coordination processes that were launched by Algeria with a number of Algerian countries, which aim to impose special control on the movement of foreign currency and stop the fraud that led to heavy bleeding, according to a list that was already leaked by the website “Wikileaks”, and that included names of Algerians, including the former Industry Minister, Abdessalam Bouchouareb.

In contrast to the precautionary measures that were taken by Algeria and the consolidation of European countries in their application, the Bank of Algeria adopted a new system which aimed at attracting foreign currency that is owned by individuals through the banking system, by enshrining the right of persons to open freely convertible foreign currency accounts without the need for prior authorization and without roofing the amount through a remittance of convertible foreign currency within a series of new supplementary measures for the maintenance of foreign currency.

It is known that natural residents and non-residents, and foreign residents and non-residents foreigns have the right to open an account in foreign currency in Algeria in accordance with the applicable law and its implementing texts, in particular, the memorandum that was issued in 2009 concerning natural persons of foreign nationality, residents and non-residents, limiting the maximum for authorizing the import and export of banknotes and/or negotiable instruments in foreign currency that is freely convertible by residents and nonresidents.

The Bank of Algeria has also obliged all foreign traders with current accounts in foreign currency to have their accounts open in a credit position, as in no case these accounts can be of a debit balance, and this is part of the State’s policy to regulate the transfer of funds for abroad and prevent all forms of money laundering.