IMF APPROVES OF DEPRIVING 17 PRIVATE CURRENCY EXCHANGE CENTERS OF
LICENSES BY CBA

YEREVAN, May 27. /ARKA/. IMF approves of depriving 17 private currency
exchange centers of licenses by CBA. According to the resident
representative of IMF in Armenia James McHugh, this issue was
discussed with the representatives of CBA. “We were explained that
operations involving large sums were made in those centers. So, we
consider such tough steps to be normal”, he said. He noted that the
international community is anxious about money laundering. “Centers
for currency exchange are the final points, where such illegal
transactions are made aiming at avoiding taxes by paying cash”, he
said.

According to McHugh, on May 25 session the IMF Executive Council
approved the CBA policy on stabilization of prices and congratulated
CBA on the success in maintaining low inflation. On May 20, owners of
private currency exchange centers in Yerevan had a strike, the reason
of which was depriving 17 currency exchange centers of licenses.

For the first time wide-scaled checking of the activity of currency
exchange centers were done by CBA already in December 2004 and were
caused by the anxiety about the activation of the work of the centers
caused by USD fluctuations. Then, on the base of rude violations of
currency legislation revealed in the course of checking 22 currency
exchange centers were deprived of licenses in Yerevan. A.H.-0–