2 working groups to curb imports, fight offenses to exchange rules

finance Ministry has just created two working groups to rationalize imports and fight against the offenses to exchange rules which substantially increased during past years, causing huge loss to the national economy, Finance Minister Karim Djoudi announced Tuesday. The recently-formed first group which gathers several sectors should give conclusions on the progress of the imports, while the second group, also set up, will identify the sources of funds illegal transfer and offences to exchange rules, Djoudi said in an interview to APS. The group in charge of combating in a "deeper manner the sources of illegal transfer" regroups the finance ministry, Bank of Algeria and the public banks, the minister added. Last Saturday, APS reported a correspondence of Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal to Djoudi in which he instructed him to take all useful measures, with a view to reinforcing exchange offences control and detction system. The hike of Algeria’s imports, a source of concern to the government, continued in the first half of 2013 with an amount of $28.35 billion, up 17% in comparison with the same period of 2012, the minister stressed. In terms of offences to exchange rules, Djoudi indicated that more than 1,000 minutes established and transmitted to justice in 2013 equaling DZD17 billion, i.e. $220 million.