Banks, customs service in Algeria plan to monitor capital flows to and from foreign countries

Algeria to monitor flows of capital and goods.Banks and the customs service in Algeria plan to install a system to monitor capital flows to and from foreign countries, a top banking representative, Abderrahmane Benkhalfa, announced Thursday.

Benkhalfa, who runs the national Association of Banks and Financial Establishments (Abef), said on state radio that cooperation established among banks and with the customs service will get the system working in 2011.

“Under the guidance of the (central) Bank of Algeria, a secure on-line system of control has been set up between banks and the database of the customs service to monitor all import operations,” he added, quoted by the official APS news agency.

“The flow of capital to foreign countries notably for the import of goods and services means that we should watch out to see that these operations also correspond to the flow of goods to Algeria,” Benkhalfa stressed.

The aim of the new system is to ensure that money that leaves Algeria is matched by the import of the goods and services for which the funds were intended. Banking operations will also be synchronised with the tax administration.