Damascus-SANA
The Central Bank of Syria confirmed that the justifications for issuing the circular containing a request to submit a banking agency for cash withdrawals from bank accounts come due to the high risks involved in addition to that it is a measure aimed at taking caution and avoiding the negative effects of legal problems resulting from the use of public agencies.
And the Central indicated in a press statement that the issuance of the circular also comes in view of the legal problems arising from the use of agencies organized by the notary public in banking, especially those related to forgery or the use of public agencies in light of the provisions of Article 667/1 of the Syrian Civil Code, which stipulates: That “the agency contained in general terms does not specify what, even for the type of legal work in which the power of attorney takes place, does not give the agent a capacity except in the work of management.”
In its statement, the Central explained that in view of the high risks arising from cash withdrawals from bank accounts and the exploitation of withdrawn funds to finance suspicious operations in light of the difficulty of their oversight by the relevant authorities, especially money laundering and terrorist financing operations, and since the provisions of Article 243 of the Syrian Commercial Law No. 33 For the year 2007, it stipulated that “it is permissible to delegate banking business with an ordinary bond signed before the bank,” as it appears from the provisions of the above article that the Syrian law authorized the power of attorney for banking business according to an ordinary bond organized before the concerned parties in the banks, due to the specificity and sensitivity of its work and the protection of depositors’ money.
According to the statement, the Central Bank of Syria is the authority with jurisdiction to monitor and supervise the banking sector operating in accordance with the provisions of the laws and regulations in force, and it is obliged to work continuously to maintain the stability of transactions in that sector and enhance confidence in it, in addition to the need to take the necessary measures to protect the funds of depositors and dealers with banks in accordance with What was stipulated in the provisions of Article /22/3/ of Law No. 28 of 2001.
The Central confirmed that the issuance of Circular No. /4964/16/r/ dated August 29-2021 came in support of the requirements of caution and caution that had been previously emphasized by the Central Bank of Syria in the circulars addressed to all banking institutions and agencies, especially in terms of ensuring the client and the agent And the importance of obtaining a live and approved form for the agent’s signature, in addition to the fact that the banking agency “with its various models” will limit all banking activities whose provisions allow them to be carried out by the agent, which shows the importance of activating these agencies and increasing reliance on them as they are more suitable for the work of banking institutions and this matter It will necessarily contribute to providing appropriate legal protection for both the bank and its customers alike.
In its statement, the Central pointed out that the circular also aims to avoid the negative effects of the legal problems that resulted from the use of the agencies regulated by the notary public, especially the public ones.
The Central Bank clarified in its statement that the provisions of the circular were limited to one of the banking operations, which is the cash withdrawals from the accounts due to the high risks involved according to what was previously stated, as the fundamentalist banking agencies organized by the notary public remain effective in the remaining banking operations.
Waseem Al-Adawi
