Fake Importers Smuggled DZD 22 Million Through Algiers Port

Exchange irregularities in Algiers port noticed a dangerous growing, as the Customs services counted during 2016 more than 60 cases of violating the Exchange Act, allowing fake importers, businessmen and fake companies to smuggle more than DZD 22 million, through the submission of forged documents and false licences, while the number of containers that entered Algiers port, during the same period, reached a quarter million containers.

Regional Director of Customs at Algiers port, Zoubir Aloui, said on Monday, in an interview with Echorouk, on the sidelines of the open doors, that customs recorded a significant rise of irregularities that are related to the smuggling of capital abroad, by a number of fake companies and traders and investors who smuggled about DZD 22 million, which pays according to the spokesman, the need to exert more efforts and update the plan of action to tackle the gangs of smuggling money out of the country.

“Reasons for the growing irregularities of exchange is because these people resort to fraudulent methods of currency smuggling through fraud in the financial permits’ margins or differences in the products’ weight compared with the figures that were given in the import licenses, as citizens are involved, by evaluating false permits, while customs counted violations in 125 cases with the total amount of DZD 95 million, from which only DZD 30 m were gained.

While the total number of containers that entered Algiers port are a quarter million, and the number of containers that were transferred from the capital Port towards the dry ports and warehouses are 81.92% of the total containers rate, as for the ships for good transporting, they reached 177 upon arrival in 2015, and the same number on the grid, compared to 161 upon arrival and the same number on the grid in 2016, while the number of passengers increased in both directions, representing more than 184.000 passengers in 2015 and more than 218.000 in 2016, and despite this increase, the order of passengers is estimated to an hour and seven minutes only, as indicated by the manager.

Customs procedures for the starting and arrival take place on board of the ships, where the traveler complete the delivery of documents to enter at the customs office during the journey in the ship, during Algiers-DC Alicante or Algiers-Marseille, and for foreign trade, out of the special system, the Director explained that the export declarations reached 1.732 in 2016 compared to 1.396 in 2015, while import declarations were down to 21.599 in 2016.

“Facilities will be offered for the Algerian community that is residing abroad in the next summer, and in 2016 the total number of written declarations at the level of the business office of Customs in Algiers, and regulations noticed an increase by 2.820 declarations compared to the year 2015”.