Aleppo – Mohammad Deeb Bazt
With the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024, the decrees issued by the ousted president regarding transactions in currencies other than the Syrian pound were frozen. The use of foreign currencies, particularly the US dollar and the Turkish lira, was liberated, making it common for people to transact in these currencies without repercussions.
However, this “financial freedom” came at a cost, as new challenges emerged that confused the market and affected both consumers and sellers, whether due to counterfeit currencies or the fluctuation and decline of exchange rates.
In the vicinity of Aleppo Citadel, an area that has again attracted commercial and tourist activity, it has become common to pay in dollars or Turkish lira, even in small cafes.
“Counterfeiting and exchange rate disparities”
Isam, the manager of a café near the citadel, told Enab Baladi that a “large” number of customers, especially those residing abroad, no longer carry the Syrian pound upon their arrival, but prefer to pay directly in US dollars.
“We deal with them and exchange dollars at a rate lower than the market because we are not an official exchange office, and the prices of the dollar fluctuate constantly. Therefore, we set a price that suits us, and it often does not cause significant harm to the customer,” he said.
He clarified that the price adopted by the café is usually about 500 Syrian pounds lower than the market rate, stressing that “we do not obligate the customer to exchange with us, and they can exchange their money outside at the price they see fit,” noting that the differences in exchange rates are not limited to inside the city but also occur between the official and parallel markets.
In a related context, Mustafa, the owner of another café in Aleppo, spoke about the spread of counterfeit dollars, especially the larger denominations such as the $50 and $100 bills, pointing out that “many people do not have enough experience to verify the authenticity of the currency, making them prone to fraud.”
Meanwhile, a cafe patron, who resides in the city of Azaz, complained that shop owners in Aleppo “act according to their whims, setting an exchange rate higher than the prices circulating in our areas, with the difference being borne by the customer.” He called for intervention from the tourism, internal trade, and consumer protection departments to unify the exchange rate bulletin in cafes and public shops, especially in Old Aleppo.
This disparity, as he expressed, “creates a state of financial injustice,” especially for those with limited incomes who receive their wages or remittances in dollars but are forced to spend in a “weak and neglected” currency.
For her part, Rama, a graduate of the Faculty of Economics from the University of Aleppo, stated to Enab Baladi that the absence of a unified monetary authority in Syria “opens the market to uncalculated possibilities.” She emphasized that the increasing reliance on foreign currencies necessitates a financial regulatory body to control exchange operations and limit counterfeiting and manipulation of the dollar’s price in the local market.
“Mint”
During Assad’s rule, the restrictions on remittances and the spread of brokers turned receiving money from abroad into a risky adventure, amid fears of security institutions and continued restrictions on the use of foreign currency.
Syrians in areas under the previous regime used alternative names and descriptors for the dollar, to avoid the risk of arrest, including “green” or “mint,” since mere possession was a crime.
Heba recalls what happened to her in early January 2024, as she did not expect that receiving a remittance worth 1.8 million Syrian pounds (about $150) from an “unlicensed” exchange office in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood would lead her to a dark cell for several hours.
While returning home, Heba (38 years old) was stopped by a checkpoint belonging to State Security at the entrance of Sheikh Maqsoud, where she was searched by the officers, who confiscated the amount on the grounds that “the office is unlicensed and the funds should go to the state’s treasury.”
According to her statement to Enab Baladi, Heba was later forced to formally relinquish the amount before being released after interventions and paying “unofficial (under-the-table) fines.”
Heba believes that the security apparatus was in prior coordination with the “unlicensed” office, which she suspects provided them with information regarding her name and remittance details, adding, “It is impossible to discover the matter so accurately without complicity from the office.”
Using the dollar is a “crime”
The former Syrian regime has treated the use of foreign currencies, especially the US dollar, as an “economic crime” for years, reinforcing this approach with a series of decrees and decisions that tightened penalties on anyone who trades in currencies other than the Syrian pound within the country.
In 2013, Assad issued the legislative decree “54,” which prohibited transactions in currencies other than the Syrian pound and criminalized dealing in currencies other than the Syrian pound as a means of payment or settlement in commercial transactions.
The decree stipulated strict penalties, including imprisonment, monetary fines, and the confiscation of circulating funds, aimed at “protecting the national currency,” as stated in the decree.
In January 2020, two legislative decrees were issued that intensified supervision and penalties for dealing in currencies other than the Syrian pound.
Decree No. “3” amended the second article of decree “54” of 2013, imposing a penalty of hard labor for no less than seven years and a fine equal to twice the value of the amount or service traded for anyone using foreign currencies or precious metals in financial transactions within the country.
Meanwhile, decree No. “4” stipulated punishing anyone who spreads false or misleading information affecting the exchange rate of the pound or public financial confidence with imprisonment and fines that could reach up to five million Syrian pounds, along with prohibiting release during investigation and trial stages.
In January 2024, Assad issued new decrees that tightened regulations on dealing in currencies other than the Syrian pound and intensified penalties for practicing currency exchange without a license.
Fluctuations in foreign currency transactions burden people of Aleppo Enab Baladi.
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