Central Bank of Egypt suspends transactions with Sudan

The Central Bank of Egypt has issued a decision circulated to the Egyptian banks instructing them to suspend dealings with their Sudanese counterparts. It also banned banking transactions with Qatar, Libya, and Syria, stating that those countries are not committed to the implementation of anti-money laundering laws. In February this year, the Saudi Arabian Unit for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, and the Office for the Commitment to Combating Money Laundering, had jointly ordered a prohibition on bank dealings with Sudan. Observers attribute the Saudi-Egyptian steps not only to the strong evidence of the involvement of Sudanese banks in money laundering, and the financing of terrorism, but also to the financial collapse of the Sudanese financial institutions as a result of the rampant corruption within the banking system. The US Dollar rose to SDG8.65 on Wednesday, despite the recent announcement of a deposit of $1 billion by the State of Qatar. File photo: Central Bank of Egypt (ahram.org.eg) Related: Sudan receives $1 billion deposit from Qatar (2 April 2014)Emirates, Saudi Arabia halt some imports from Sudan (17 March 2014)Saudi, European banks halt Sudanese transactions (27 February 2014)